The White House also pointed to cases of banks extending mortgages, credit cards, and loans to undocumented immigrants and employers underreporting wages for undocumented employees, arguing that associated “costs are passed on to American consumers in the forms of higher fees and interest rates.”
It is unclear the extent to which these activities raise banking fees and interest rates for ordinary Americans. Economists generally attribute higher rates to benchmark rates, which are used to balance inflation and job growth, bank funding costs, and individual factors like borrowers’ credit scores. Around 5,000 to 6,000 mortgages were issued to customers with ITINs, according to a study by the left-leaning Urban institute. Banks are generally reluctant to lend to customers with ITINs, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are generally disinclined to insure mortgages for borrowers with an ITIN, according to the Associated Press.