AUSTIN - Some Republican members on the House Appropriations Committee are angry that non-profit groups which utilize state funds do not have to verify the citizenship status of the low-income people they are helping.

Matters came to a head when the budget-writing panel considered a funding request from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

When asked if undocumented immigrants were benefiting from a colonia housing program, TDHCA Executive Director Michael Gerber explained that most of the money for the program came from the federal government and that his agency basically followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

That did not please some GOP members on the panel. They asked what needed to be done legislatively in order to get TDHCA to instruct the non-profit groups it works with to verify citizenship before assistance is given under the Contract for Deed Conversion Program.

“I want to take a stand,” said Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Dallas, as he and other GOP members asked if approving TDHCA’s budget could be tied to new legislative instructions on verifying citizenship.

“There will never be another time to do it. It will get gobbled up in the machine,” Jackson said.

The member with the most questions for Gerber was Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball.

“So the impoverished American citizens are going without while we are taking care of impoverished people who are not here legally. Is that correct?” Riddle asked Gerber.

Riddle said that while everyone believed in the American Dream, it did not mean undocumented immigrants had to come first.

“I gotta tell ya, I grew up in a world where I was reared to be charitable and where we, you know, did everything we could to help our fellow man but, bottom line, I grew up in a world where we take care of our own first,” Riddle said.

“I’m very sensitive to every nickel that we spend here because it’s coming out of the taxpayer’s pocket. When I’m talking about paying taxpayers money I’m thinking I’m putting my hand into my momma’s purse and I’m taking it out of her wallet.”

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, agreed that the U.S. had “a lot of impoverished citizens.” She too said they ought to come first. 

“Most of my constituents think that I’m doing work for the citizens of Texas and the citizens of the United States,” Kolkhorst said. “When we are robbing Peter to pay Paul and Paul’s not really a member of our family, I’m a little concerned.”

Under a legislative directive issued two years ago, TDHCA is required to spend no less than $4 million on Contract for Deed conversions for families that reside in a colonia and earn 60 percent or less of median family income.

The agency was asked to convert no less than 400 Contracts for Deed into traditional notes and deeds of trust by August 31, 2007. Under its proposed budget for the next biennium, TDHCA will only have to convert 100 Contracts for Deed into traditional mortgages, which average $55,000.

Gerber said the program was designed to help the victims of “unscrupulous developers” who, under Contract for Deed arrangements, can throw residents out of their homes with little legal recourse.

Gerber said that working through self-help and non-profit groups, his agency was not only able to assist with Contract for Deed conversions but also repair of the homes of colonia residents.

“They are difficult to serve individuals and families and they living in the most deplorable conditions along the border, as you can imagine,” Gerber said.

Gerber said his department’s success rate was high, with only seven out of 200 conversions ending in foreclosure.

Gerber asked TDHCA General Counsel Kevin Hamby to explain why the agency does not require citizenship verification.

Hamby said that under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, otherwise known as the Welfare Reform Act, non-profits are generally not required to determine, verify or otherwise provide proof of eligibility of any applicant for federal benefits.

“HUD has mirrored the language and added further restriction that if a non-profit opts to collect this information, then they have to meet all the reporting requirements of how to report status and residency,” Hamby said.

“So basically it is a disincentive,” Kolkhorst asked. “It’s a disincentive to report,” Hamby agreed.

Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, said she was pleased to know the state could remedy this legislatively.

Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, asked if citizen verification was required for an Energy Assistance Program administered by the Public Utility Commission and poverty related funding program administered by the Health and Human Services Commission.

“We are talking about $100 million. Some of that could be going to non-citizens,” Taylor said.

It was left to Reps. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, and Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, to defend non-profits, the colonia housing program and colonia residents.

Noriega said he wanted to know how many faith-based organizations would be “placed in the predicament of becoming immigration officers” if non-profits were required to verify citizenship.

Lucio cited a report by the Comptroller’s Office which, he said, showed that immigrants bring a “tremendous amount, billions of dollars to the economy.”

Lucio said he wanted to know how many colonia residents benefiting from the Deed for Contract Conversion program were undocumented and how many had a working visa or were waiting to have citizenship applications dealt with.

“If it’s a small percentage, I don’t want to shut the door completely on these people. They are important to my border community,” Lucio said.

Lucio pointed to the current heavy workload of immigration attorneys in South Texas, saying this showed that undocumented immigrants wanted to “do the right thing” and apply to be in the country legally.

“These are honest, hardworking people who want to provide an opportunity, just like all our ancestors did,” Lucio said.

Lucio added that he had recently visited with families who had invested 40 hours a week or more in sweat equity in order to build their own home.

He congratulated TDCHA on the success of the Bootstrap Program, which provides loans to improve housing conditions.

“I saw some very, very, happy people down there take extreme pride in their new home they helped build,” Lucio said. “I’d like to see that program extended.”

When it came to approving the TDHCA budget, Riddle initially said she wanted to walk out. She said could not “in good conscience” sit there and say nothing. Riddle added that she “cannot sleep at night” knowing American citizens are losing out to undocumented immigrants.

Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chair of the Appropriations Committee, said that if a panel member wanted to instruct non-profits to verify citizenship they could either do it through a separate bill or through a “rider” inserted in the appropriations bill at a later date.

“They could all be citizens, we don’t know that because we don’t collect that data,” Chisum said, defending TDHCA. The panel approved the agency’s new budget.