CHICAGO–Alliant Credit Union has reportedly reached a settlement with a “dreamer” member who had filed suit alleging she had been denied a loan based on her immigration status.
The lawsuit, which sought class action status, had been filed in court in California. Terms of the tentative settlement have not been released.
As CUToday.info reported earlier, the suit was originally filed in March of 2022 and alleged Alliant Credit Union has wrongfully denied full access to loan products and services to certain applicants based on their immigration status or alienage, including to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, according to Class Action.org.
DACA recipients are often referred to as “dreamers,” drawn from the 2014 DREAM Act (short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act).
The Allegation
“The plaintiff, a Salinas, California, resident, alleges in the 11-page suit that when she informed Alliant during the loan application process that she was a DACA recipient, she was told by a representative that the credit union does ‘not lend on DACA status’,” ClassAction.org stated in summarizing the lawsuit. “The Alliant rep told the plaintiff, whose loan application had been pre-approved by Alliant, that her husband, a U.S. citizen and co-signer on the auto loan, would have to submit another application solely in his own name and remove her from the application.”
Borrower Allegedly Told to Refile
According to the lawsuit, during the application process, “Alliant sought to determine the plaintiff’s foreign-national status by requesting that she upload either I-797 or I-94 forms if she was a visa holder, a permanent resident card if she was a permanent resident, or a naturalization certificate if she was a naturalized citizen, the lawsuit states,” ClassAction.org reported. “According to the suit, when the plaintiff, who received DACA status in 2012, informed Alliant through its messaging portal that she was not a visa holder, permanent resident or naturalized citizen, but a DACA recipient, the woman was told that the credit union does not lend on DACA status and that her husband would need to submit a new application without her name.”
The lawsuit alleged the plaintiff then received from Alliant an adverse action notice that stated the principal reason for being denied the loan, which the consumer applied for in order to finance the purchase of a Tesla vehicle, was due to her “residency status,” ClassAction.org stated.
‘Felt Discriminated Against’
“Alliant’s denial of her application caused [the plaintiff] to feel discriminated against and excluded from participating in commerce in the United States,” the complaint stated. “[The plaintiff] suffered harm and emotional distress as a result of Alliant’s unlawful denial of her application.”
The plaintiff alleged Alliant Credit Union violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act by refusing to provide the plaintiff and others an opportunity to apply for financial products due to their immigration status.
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