US says non-resident FHA home loans drop to near zero after policy shift

The US says taxpayer-backed home loans for non-permanent residents have nearly disappeared after a HUD policy change. The shift has fuelled a heated Texas election debate over immigration, housing and H1-B workers.Washington,Oct 10, 2026 00:12 ISTThe US government has said taxpayer-backed home loans for non-permanent residents have fallen to nearly zero, more than a year after a policy change that excluded them from a key housing programme. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner highlighted the shift on Friday and said the policy was aimed at protecting American homebuyers.Turner marked the development by posting a video with the remark, "Dallas ka Desi Housing Boom Khatam?" He also said in a statement, "We are preventing illegals and non-residents from accessing taxpayer-backed programs at the expense of American homebuyers. Today, that share is zero. Make no mistake - exploit our citizens, and HUD will act."Immigration has become a major issue in the midterm elections in Texas, a Republican stronghold where the party is facing a strong challenge from the Democrats. Several pollsters have forecast a close contest in the state, where President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance have made multiple visits to bolster Republican support.Texas is home to more than 500,000 South Asians, many of them of Indian origin. The issue has led some staunch Republicans to describe the situation as an "Indian invasion". In May last year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development changed its policy to bar non-permanent residents, including those on H1-B visas, from accessing Federal Housing Administration-backed loans meant for first-time homebuyers. Before the change took effect, non-permanent residents made up about 5.8 per cent of FHA purchase originations and 5.6 per cent of purchase mortgages across the wider market, according to ICE data shared with HousingWire.After the policy change, their share of FHA purchase loans dropped to about 0.1 per cent. Their share of purchase mortgages across all loan types also fell by 2.2 percentage points to 3.4 per cent, the data showed. Turner said, "President Trump promised to put Americans first, and HUD delivered." The video shared by Turner featured a person claiming that home prices in Collin County, Texas, fell by nearly nine per cent year on year as of February, more than double the decline recorded across the wider Dallas-Fort Worth region. The video also claimed that the fall in home prices came after the Trump administration began a clampdown on H1-B visas, which led to mass layoffs in the technology sector. Overall, the administration linked the near-elimination of such government-backed loans for non-permanent residents to its wider push on immigration and housing policy.With PTI Inputs- Ends