Lex Ipsa

[History Calendar @HistoryCalendar]

The birth years of Continental Congress members if the United States Declaration of Independence had been signed in 2026.

[Robert Sterling @RobertMSterling]

During the Biden administration, H-1B visa holders were buying houses with 97-100% financing. 97% would come from the FHA, with the rest coming from state first-time home buyer programs.

Zero money down. Thanks to programs that were supposed to be helping low-income American families buy their own homes.

FHA loans to non-permanent residents quickly grew to represent 6% of mortgage issuances. The percentage was undoubtedly higher in places like the DFW area, where H-1B visa holders are disproportionately concentrated.

I don’t have anything against people in America on H-1B visas. I’ve said it before—and I’ll say it again—that I’ve found many of them to be great people on an individual level, and I wish them all nothing but the best. Individual immigrants—especially those here legally—are not at fault for flawed US immigration policy.

But this might be the most radicalizing thing I’ve ever seen. Not only are American workers forced to compete for jobs, they’re also forced to compete in the housing market against people bringing 0-3% of a house’s cost to the closing table, versus the 10-20% most people have to pay.

First, companies import mass numbers of H-1B visa holders, largely in "back office" white-collar fields like IT and accounting. This essentially imposes a lower ceiling on domestic wages in these job categories.

Next, these workers—who are generally concentrated in certain geographic areas—create more demand for housing (especially in good school districts), driving up home prices and the cost of living.

Then, to top it off, they don’t even have to save up money for a down payment. They can close on a $500k house with $0-15k plus a 97% FHA loan. Meanwhile, ordinary American families are forced to come to with $50-100k for the same down payment.

I don’t care how you feel about Trump or what your preferred immigration policies are; there’s no defending this. It screws over hard-working American citizens several different ways over, and it’s yet another reason why I will always be glad Trump won and Kamala Harris lost in 2024.

[Amy Nixon @texasrunnerDFW]

We basically did NINJA loans again but this time with non-US citizens

Many homebuilders, such as Bloomfield Homes in Celina, TX offered access to FHA loans for H-1B visa holders through their preferred lenders until May of 2025, when Trump had HUD shut these lending practices down

Some of these FHA loans offered 100% financing through a combination of a standard FHA loan and access to State assisted first time homebuyer grants for the 3% downpayment

Yes, you read that correctly, your tax dollars funded home-buying grants for non-US Citizens during the Biden administration

Is it just a coincidence that home prices began falling at a rapid pace in Celina, TX almost immediately after Trump shut this program down?

How many people bought a brand new home with zero money down at peak 2022-2024 pricing?

You won’t see an impact at a national level, but you WILL see it in certain markets with a lot of H-1B tech workers and new construction

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

@KylePorterNS @OldTakesExposed

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

They’re thinking the Framers had it right.

[Rep. Oscar De Los Santos @RepODLS]

WTF?? House Republicans just introduced a measure to REPEAL the 17th Amendment of the US Constitution. They want to ban the people from voting for our US Senators. Instead, they want the Legislature to appoint our Senators.

WTF are they thinking?

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

@2Aupdates Dad, I can’t see real good. Is that Keith Ellison’s name on that brief?

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

Dad, I can’t see real good. Is that Keith Ellison’s name on that brief?

[Rob Romano @2Aupdates]

The AGs of DC, IL, CT, DE, HI, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, and WA argued in 2024 that there's no 2A right to carry guns at "events involving political speech, like political rallies and protests" because they are "often targets of violence" https://t.co/471u7bqPEi

[MAZE @mazemoore]

2021. CNN: Trump and his allies are trying to make Ashli Babbitt into a martyr by using the word murdered. How dangerous is this type of rhetoric for law enforcement

[Homeland Security @DHSgov]

Americans have always known “why”

[Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays]

Republicans will be hunted.

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

@DavidSacks @SemiAnalysis_ I have a hard time believing a typical @innoutburger consumes over 400,000 gallons of water a day.

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

Impossible. The law has “affordable” right there in the name.

[Saagar Enjeti @esaagar]

My in laws Obamacare is going from $1800/month to $4125/month

A full 50k a year

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

Gene Hackman in his prime

[New York Post @nypost]

Katie Porter dumped scalding mashed potatoes on then-husband’s head, resurfaced divorce docs reveal https://t.co/j031yEhLbx

[Lex Ipsa @LexIpsaLoquitur]

@JackPosobiec

[NY AG James @NewYorkStateAG]

When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of hardworking people.

Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them.

There simply cannot be different rules for different people.

[Big Fish @BigFish3000]

Adam Carolla unloads on Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass like only he can do. California is broken by their own outrageous bureaucracy.

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

This is by my count six arrestable offenses since Charlie’s murder and they’re all left-motivated violence and damage. Crazy guy protecting the shooter, assault on Kirk mourners (TX), vandalism on Kirk vigil (AZ), attempted bombing of a Fox truck, shooting at ABC affiliate.

[Roseanne Barr @therealroseanne]

Yeah imagine an administration putting pressure on a television channel to fire a comedian they didn’t like.

[Mark Hemingway @Heminator]

This piece from Josh Trevino is excellent, and among other things, absolutely guts the "both sides" claim.

[Batya Ungar-Sargon @bungarsargon]

It helps no one for Democrats to both sides a condemnation of "all political violence." They need to admit it was wrong to demonize legitimate conservative viewpoints. Then the healing can start.