NLIHC and the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition (PIF) released a new fact sheet, “Targeting Immigrants Will Not Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis.” The new resource debunks xenophobic lies used by the Trump Administration to scapegoat immigrants as a factor in the affordable housing crisis. Policies proposed by President Trump, including those targeting immigrants such as withholding federal resources from sanctuary jurisdictions, allowing immigration enforcement to raid shelters and other sensitive areas, evicting mixed-status immigrant households from HUD housing, and discouraging access to public benefits, will lead to even more housing insecurity and make it harder for states and communities to address pressing housing needs.
High housing costs are due to systemic drivers, not immigrants. Income rates have not kept up with housing costs, particularly for those with the lowest incomes. While a full-time worker needs to earn more than $26 an hour to afford a modest, one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent, 42% of workers in the United States make less than that amount. Nationally, there is a shortage of 7.3 million homes affordable and available to people with the lowest incomes due to a market failure—the private market cannot reliably build enough housing with rents low enough for extremely low-income families, and Congress has consistently failed to fill this gap.
Immigrants have inherent dignity and worth by virtue of their humanity – as we all do. Importantly, immigrants play a critical role in solving the housing crisis. By deporting immigrant workers, the construction workforce will be dramatically impacted, slow housing construction, raise costs, and ultimately decrease the number of new homes that can be built, worsening housing supply issues. The Trump Administration’s proposals, if implemented, will lead to even more housing insecurity and homelessness by undermining state and local efforts to meet housing needs and harm people in their moments of greatest need by targeting “protected areas” like shelters and schools. Rather than targeting immigrants, Congress should provide the long-term, large-scale investments necessary to end the affordable housing crisis, including expanding rental assistance, investing in affordable housing supply, providing emergency rental assistance, and other eviction prevention measures while strengthening renter protections.
Read the fact sheet here.