Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., appeared to express support for her state's controversial bill that would provide financial aid for illegal immigrants to buy homes.
California lawmakers passed AB 1840, which would require the California Housing Finance Authority's home purchase assistance program, or California Dream for All Program, to include undocumented migrants, meaning those seeking to become first-time homeowners would be eligible for taxpayer loans.
During the same discussion, the former Speaker advocated for making these illegal immigrants legal: "What I would like to do is move them to documented. One of the best things we can do for our economy is pass comprehensive immigration reform."
During Friday's appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Pelosi was asked to react to the bill's passing.
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"That's kind of a different place than the Democratic Party used to be on immigration, is it not?" host Bill Maher asked.
"Well, let me just say, immigration had always been a bipartisan issue," Pelosi responded.
"But not free housing," Maher interjected.
"Well, that's not free housing. It's the American Dream being available to more people," Pelosi pushed back. "But understand this about immigration. The best speech when immigration was by President Ronald Reagan. ‘This is the last speech I will make as President of the United States. I want to communicate a message to the country I love.’ And he talked about the Statue of Liberty and the Beacon of Hope it is to the world and what America was preeminent to the world because our door was always open. And we will cease to be preeminent when we shut the door."
"Now, I don't do justice to the Great Communicator. Google it. It's a fabulous speech, and George Herbert Walker Bush continued in that respect for the diversity of America and the rest. California is always in the lead. Maybe others will follow that lead, but that's up to those states. But we are very blessed here with beautiful diversity," she continued.
"So you'd vote for this law?" Maher then asked.
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"Well, I'm not familiar with exactly what that is, but making the American dream of homeownership available to all people is something we have to do for people who are here now," Pelosi said.
"This is before you're a citizen. This is for the undocumented," Maher stressed.
"Well, what I would like to do is move them to documented," Pelosi responded, adding "One of the best things we can do for our economy is pass comprehensive immigration reform."
