The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, along with two other federal regulators, has officially issued new guidance to banks recommending that they stop issuing loans to illegal aliens, a practice that is legal under current law. Regulators also pushed financial institutions to reconsider providing credit cards and mortgages to illegal aliens.
The Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, explained that American banks have been making “lots” of loans to illegal aliens, creating significant financial risk for lenders who may never recover the money they’ve loaned out if that alien is deported. He added that the measure is intended to increase financial stability and suggested it was prompted by a “surprising” finding by federal regulators, presumably regarding the volume of loans being issued to individuals without citizenship or legal immigration status.
NEC Director Kevin Hassett: "If a bank is making lots of loans to people that might be deported... then obviously that person's probably not going to pay back the loan—and so we view this as a financial stability measure that makes a great deal of sense." https://t.co/100Q6EM0if pic.twitter.com/hwE4CKXEZ6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 14, 2026
"Why would loans even be going to illegal immigrants in the first place?" Hasset was asked on Fox News.
"Right, they shouldn't have been going there in the first place, and the bottom line is that if a bank is making lots of loans to people that might be deported because they have a criminal record or whatever, then obviously that person is probably not going to pay back the loan," Hassett replied. "And so we view this as a financial stability measure that makes a great deal of sense. And it's, I guess, the interesting thing is that the regulators felt they had to issue that guidance, presumably because of something they discovered that was surprising."
This comes as the Trump administration issued a directive in May seeking to wield the U.S. banking system in support of its mass deportation campaign. Among the speculative measures floated was requiring banks to request citizenship information before offering any services. Currently, no federal rule prevents banks from opening accounts for noncitizens in the U.S.
I strongly support President Trump taking action to prevent illegal migrants from accessing our banking system.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) February 24, 2026
I sent a letter to @SecScottBessent asking for an investigation into this matter, and will be introducing legislation on this issue shortly. https://t.co/Y92fdjpon9