Mortgages for U.S. illegals questioned

BOSTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- New calls are being raised in Washington to stop illegal immigrants from receiving legal home loans and purchasing property.

The Boston Globe interviewed two unidentified illegal immigrants, one from Colombia and the other from Ireland, who legally own homes in Massachusetts and both of whom said they pay taxes and blend in with their communities.

Critics, including U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., accuse banks of using legal loopholes to essentially sanction illegal immigration. Earlier this year, Doolittle pushed legislation to ban government-sponsored enterprises from giving out residential mortgages based on Internal Revenue Service taxpayer identification numbers. At present, the IRS generally doesn't share the information with federal immigration agents.

The measure passed the House of Representatives in May as an amendment to another bill and is pending in the Senate, the Globe said.

Meanwhile, Corey Carlisle, senior director of government affairs at the national Mortgage Bankers Association, told the Globe bankers were operating within their realm of responsibility.

"It's not our bank members' job to determine immigration policy," Carlisle said.