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Entry: The Diversity Recession, or How Affirmative Action Helped Cause the Housing Crisis Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/the_diversity_recession_or_how_affirmative_action_helped_cause_the_housing#30661 Post contents: A few of us have been following this issue convinced that illegal aliens make up a significant portion of the subprime mess. However, it is very hard to get actual numbers because no one wants to report this. If you ask, you are made to feel like a bigot for doing so. Instead, I have found many who say that illegals can't be a significant part of the problem because illegals can't get benefits that others do such as home mortgages, welfare, free health care, etc. So to even bring it up is a waste of time. Instead of discussing illegals and subprime, many open border supporters like the WSJ have changed the subject to immigrants and the individual tax identification number (ITIN) mortgages. ITINs are given to immigrants (legal, I assume) who don't have SSNs. These mortgages have been reported to have a better payback rate than even non-subprime mortgages. Many groups are now running with this to prove that immgrants, legal and illegal, are better credit risks than natural born Americans. Blogs especially now claim illegals just get ITIN mortgages and pay them back better than Americans do. The latest to carry this story is the Charlotte Observer. http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/667410.html If you read closely you will find they state the ITIN market is "$3 billion". That does not seem much. If the average home mortage is $100K, which is a low number, that would put ITINs at 30,000 nationwide. I used the low figure to make a nice round number. Therefore, at most there are 30,000 ITIN mortgages nationwide. Now enter a piece from the Denver Post. "One government source estimates 20,000 illegal immigrants hold FHA-insured loans in metro Denver alone." http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4228048 Mind you these might not be subprime, but they sure as heck can't be ITIN mortgages either. Because if there are 30,000 ITINs nationwide, how can 20,000 be in Denver alone? I don't wish to bore you with more links, numbers and minutiae. Suffice it to say illegals are probably a significant part of the sub prime mess and don't let anyone try to fool you by changing the topic to legal immigrants and ITIN mortgages. Sent at: 2008 12 01