SANTA ANA – The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking class status based on claims from a Los Angeles man who was denied an auto loan by his Huntington Beach-based credit union due to his immigration status.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Luis Saul Bautista Martinez, 29, alleges that Nuvision Credit Union in Huntington Beach approved of and then denied a $35,000 auto loan due to the fact that he is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
Nuvision officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bautista Martinez has lived in the country since he was brought here from Oaxaca, Mexico, when he was 4, according to the lawsuit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal State Fullerton in 2019 and is a marketing specialist.
Since 2012, Bautista Martinez has been a DACA recipient, which allows him to work in the United States and assigns him a Social Security number.
Last year in April, when Bautista Martinez applied for a loan from Nuvision, he was told it was approved and he was asked to provide a pay stub and Social Security card, which he did.
Bautista Martinez sold his car based on the preliminary approval and since he was denied the loan he hasn’t been able to buy another vehicle, according to the suit. Bautista Martinez said in the lawsuit that he was told he was being denied the loan because of his residency status.
“There are currently thousands of DACA recipients who have held that status for over a decade; there is simply no excuse for treating DACA recipients differently than other long-term residents, including citizens,” said Thomas Saenz, MALDEF president and general counsel. “Regardless of yesterday’s election outcome, the rule prohibiting discrimination against immigrants remains the law, and MALDEF will continue to aggressively enforce that rule of law.”
Bautista Martinez has been unable to buy a new car “because lenders, including car dealerships, are offering loans with interest rates of up to 13% compared to the much-lower interest rates of 5% or 6% that Nuvision was offering when he applied,” according to the lawsuit.
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Very easy to default if you are not a legal resident. Hope Nuvision wins its case Otherwise lots of non-legals will be applying for loans and defaulting. I imagine the other bank/credit union members would bear the brunt.