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Posted: September 12, 2007 5:43 PM
Tancredo Draws Ties Between Immigration, Mortgage Jitters
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Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who has consistently claimed that illegal immigration touches nearly every other public issue, now says it may have connections to the mortgage crisis.

Tancredo sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development asking about the verification of legal residency status and identity of potential homebuyers when doling out federally backed home loans, his congressional office announced Wednesday. He pointed to a mortgage-fraud ring in Colorado that helped 250 unqualified buyers obtain federal loans through falsified identities and citizenship documentation.

“We need to ensure that the ‘American Dream’ remains within the reach of American families, and that means doing everything we can to prevent unscrupulous business people and illegal aliens from undermining its integrity,” Tancredo said in the statement.

Tancredo also said this week that he was encouraged by the testimony of Army Gen. David Petraeus that U.S. troops are making progress. He turned back to immigration, however, as he questioned the Bush administration’s need to accept more Iraqi refugees.

“What’s worse, their effort to admit these refugees is just the latest example of the State Department’s refusal to comply with a federal law that directs the government to stop issuing visas to countries who refuse to cooperate with the U.S. when we try to deport their citizens back to their home country — something that the Iraqi government has done with impunity since assuming sovereignty,” Tancredo said in a statement released by his campaign.

In a visit to Oklahoma last week, Tancredo praised state leaders for passing tough anti-illegal immigration laws, which are set to take effect in November. The laws set criminal penalties for harboring illegal immigrants and also bar illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits, except for emergencies.

After turning his efforts to other states following a fourth-place finish in the Iowa straw poll last month, Tancredo is expected to return to the Hawkeye State this week. He is slated to participate in a “Talk with Tom” forum at the lodge of Republican Party of Iowa chairman Ray Hoffman in Correctionville. On Friday, he plans to hold events in Sioux City, Remsen, Orange City and Inwood. Saturday’s itinerary includes Sibley, Sheldon, Spencer and Milford.