Vice President JD Vance was again proved right that the Biden administration’s flood of millions of illegal immigrants into the United States affected housing prices for Americans.
In several instances, Vance has pointed out that the flood of millions of illegal immigrants into the country has driven up the cost of homes and rent prices for Americans. During a debate with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Vance pointed out that 25 million illegal aliens “competing with Americans for scarce homes is one of the most significant drivers of home prices in the country.”
In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, Vance also pointed out that many younger Americans were stating that “housing is way too expensive,” adding that the nation was “flooded with 30 million illegal immigrants who are taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens” while not enough new homes were being built.
A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas showed how the flood of illegal migrants “between 2021 and 2024 affected local labor and hosing markets,” Fox Business reported.
Researchers estimated that “unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30 percent of employment growth, roughly 30 percent of home-price growth, and about 20 percent of rent growth”:
A 1 percent increase in unauthorized workers relative to a local labor force corresponded with roughly a 1 percent increase in overall employment, with no evidence the immigration surge reduced average wages. The same 1 percent increase, however, was associated with a roughly 2.2 percent rise in home prices and a 1.4 percent increase in rents. Researchers found little evidence that homebuilding expanded enough to meet the added demand, concluding the influx acted as a housing demand shock in markets where supply was already constrained.
The economists estimate unauthorized immigrant worker flows accounted for about 30 percent of employment growth, roughly 30 percent of home-price growth, and about 20 percent of rent growth in the average metropolitan area between March 2021 and March 2024.
Several news outlets have previously attempted to fact-check Vance regarding his claims that the inflow of millions of illegal aliens led to increased housing and rent prices.
CBS News reported in October 2024 that while Vance — at the time, “posted some studies and speeches on social media to back up his claim” that millions of illegal migrants were competing with American citizens for homes, the Federal Reserve study was a “short prepared speech by a Fed official who had pointed out that the ‘inflow of new immigrants to some geographic areas could result in upward pressure on rents.’”
The outlet continued to state that “the causes behind skyrocketing housing costs stem” from issues such as “a longstanding lack of new construction in the decade that followed the U.S. housing crash in 2007”:
The causes behind skyrocketing housing costs stem chiefly from larger issues in the real estate market. The biggest factor: a longstanding lack of new construction in the decade that followed the U.S. housing crash in 2007, along with the ensuing global financial crisis.
The New York Times also fact-checked Vance stating that housing is unaffordable because “millions of illegal immigrants” were brought in:
Economists and real estate experts say that while migration, including illegal immigration, has contributed to population growth and thus demand for housing, it is not a main driver of the country’s housing affordability crisis. A lack of supply is the primary culprit, they said.
“Once again, the useless attempts to fact-check the Vice President have proven that the mainstream media is nothing more than a propaganda arm for the Left,” a spokesperson for Vance said in a statement to Breitbart News. “While the media tries to gaslight the public into ignoring the real impact left-wing policies have had on their lives, the Trump administration is working to ensure that Americans can afford to own homes on American soil.”
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