An instructor at Donald Trump’s Trump Entrepreneur Initiative—originally known as Trump University—once offered advice about how illegal immigrants can purchase homes in the United States. Real estate agent Tina Merritt wrote a blog post for the Trump Blog in April 2010 titled “Can an Illegal Immigrant Buy a Home in the United States?” Merritt explained that the answer was “yes.”
Here’s an excerpt from the archived blog post:
Merritt noted that while it is difficult for illegal immigrants to get mortgage loans, several banks have programs designed for those immigrants.
“Lastly, it is not illegal to own real estate in the U.S. even if one is in the country illegally,” she wrote. “If getting a mortgage is not an option, one can always pay cash.”
The Trump Blog was marketed as an outlet for “Ideas and Opinions from Donald Trump and The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative Instructors.” Some former clients of the online education company, a division of the Trump Organization, are currently suing for fraud.
Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidential campaign.
This isn’t the first time a Trump University blog post has contradicted Trump’s politics. As Buzzfeed recently reported, Trump himself penned a defense of American companies outsourcing to foreign workers back in 2005. “Outsourcing jobs…is not always a terrible thing,” Trump wrote.
During this campaign, Trump has argued the U.S. is losing jobs because of unfair trade deals.
