The unprecedented migration crisis exacerbates our housing shortage

The housing shortage looms at a time when our nation faces a crucial presidential election. Last week, the National Association of Realtors released new data revealing that home prices in the United States hit an all-time high in June 2024. It’s no surprise, then, that housing costs are top of mind for young voters.

Unfortunately, some in Washington DC continue to turn a blind eye to a key factor exacerbating this crisis: mass illegal immigration.

Housing supply has been tight since the Great Recession, when housing production steadily declined, especially construction of “affordable” apartments, which fell by 4.7 million units between 2015 and 2020. Yet demand for housing has only increased, driving up the cost of living.

By 2024, the United States had a deficit of between 4 and 7 million housing units. The shortage of affordable and multifamily housing is especially acute, as multifamily housing construction has declined since 2021, falling by 14%. Considering that incomes have not kept pace with rising housing costs, these higher costs are especially detrimental to low-income families seeking multifamily units.

In addition, rising production costs have discouraged developers from building more multifamily units, making the problem worse.

Adding to this dire situation is the massive influx of illegal immigrants into the United States since 2021. According to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies, the foreign-born population has increased by 6.6 million since 2021, and 58% of this increase comes from illegal immigration. This massive influx of population has increased the demand for housing, exacerbating the existing shortage.

While both parties have largely ignored this issue, former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee has led the way in addressing this little-reported crisis. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) recently said, “It’s very hard to talk about the housing crisis in Ohio or across the country without talking about the immigration problem. When you allow, say, 10 to 15 million people to come into the country illegally, all of those people need a home.”

While population growth increases housing supply over time by providing more labor, new construction cannot keep pace with the increased demand caused by mass immigration. In fact, some estimates suggest that immigration may increase total housing demand by around 500,000 units per year. As a result, housing costs and rents have seen additional increases in areas hardest hit by mass immigration, such as Miami and Denver, which have struggled to cope with the massive influx of migrants since 2021.

The role immigration plays in worsening the housing crisis is especially evident in the multifamily housing market. Forty percent of those apprehended at the southern border arrived in family units, and these families are initially housed in migrant shelters, which are often gyms or hotels. In New York City last year, two-thirds of migrants housed in shelters were members of family units.

When these immigrants are eventually forced to leave these shelters, they often seek out affordable apartments, competing with low-income Americans at the low end of the housing market and driving up rents for the country’s poorest tenants. These consequences reveal the injustice of mass immigration, which benefits immigrants at the expense of struggling Americans.

It is true that there are other factors contributing to the shortage of existing housing, including land use regulation, zoning, and a “not in my backyard” attitude, which make it difficult to build new housing, especially multi-family units. However, it is simply impossible for housing construction to keep pace with the influx of millions of low-income households crossing the southern border.

As long as the Biden administration allows unchecked illegal immigration into the country, the housing shortage will worsen and housing costs will rise.

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Eric Gordy is a student at the University of Notre Dame and an intern at the Center for Immigration Studies.