A California equal rights group is suing the city of San Diego, claiming the city's program intended to help first-time homebuyers discriminates against white people.
The lawsuit takes aim at the program officially known as the "City of San Diego First-Time Homebuyer Program for Middle-Income, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Households."
The program is a pilot project launched by San Diego's Housing Commission in June 2023, ostensibly to help first time, middle class individuals and families buy homes in the city, by providing up to $40,000 in assistance for down payments and closing costs.
The assistance includes a $20,000 deferred loan and a $20,000 grant toward closing costs, or a $20,000 grant toward a down payment and closing costs.
According to the complaint, the program intentionally discriminates against would-be applicants who are white, specifically limiting eligibility for applicants only to "eligible borrowers who self-identify as black, indigenous or other person of color," including "borrowers that self-identify as Hispanic/Latinx and any race other than white."
According to the complaint, any applicants who do not "self-identify as 'black, indigenous or other person of color'" will be rejected, and any person who misrepresents their racial identity on the application could face fines and penalties.
The lawsuit asserts the San Diego program is a blatant example of anti-white racial discrimination, in violation of equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The CFER is seeking a court order permanently blocking the city of San Diego from carrying out the discriminatory program.
In a statement published to their site and credited to executive director Wenyuan Wu, the CFER said:
"This race-based condition clearly constitutes a violation of the equal protection guarantee under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Under our Constitution, discrimination against Americans based on race or color is wrong and it doesn’t matter if the victims are white, black, yellow or brown: discrimination is discrimination and it is unlawful.
"Not only is this race-preferential housing assistance program unconstitutional, it is also morally corrupt. The government should help homebuyers based on needs, not race. That is why we are suing the City of San Diego to halt this government-endorsed, discriminatory program. No, the government should never have the authority to favor some people over others solely based on race."
In a statement issued by the Pacific Legal Foundation, attorney Jack Brown said: “If the City of San Diego is going to provide down payment and loan assistance to aspiring homeowners, it must do so without discriminating on the basis of race. America’s Finest City needs to live up to the bedrock principle of equal opportunity for all — including in housing."