Biden Admin Threatens Banks That Refuse to Lend Money to Illegal Immigrants

The Biden administration released a statement Thursday warning financial institutions against using a person’s immigration status in credit applications.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a joint statement telling financial institutions that while it is not illegal to consider a person’s immigration status in the decision on whether to lend money, an overreliance on it could run afoul of the law, according to the statement. The statement implicates the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex and more in considering a person’s credit application as the mechanism, even though the law does not list citizenship status as a protected attribute.

“Fair access to credit is crucially important for building wealth and strengthening household financial stability,” Rohit Chopra, CFPB director, said in a press release. “The CFPB will not allow companies to use immigration status as an excuse for illegal discrimination.”

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