For years, there has been a debate surrounding the mass migration cost to US taxpayers. In January, the Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement projected that federal and state governments have spent nearly $151 billion on illegal aliens in the past year, be it welfare payments or incarcerating migrants. With the US economy facing a barrage of miniature fires, experts are determining how much mass migration affects kitchen table issues, such as the housing crisis or the US labor market.
The reality is that the inconvenient truth is not something the mainstream media desires to hear or report to the masses.
Mass Migration and Housing Affordability
The American Dream of homeownership is fading, and finding an apartment to rent that does not consume more than 30% of your earnings is like discovering a four-leaf clover. Last year, only 16% of home listings were classed as “affordable” due to a paucity of supply and strengthening demand, forcing intense competition in the housing market. With more people flooding the southern border, US citizens are fighting for single-family homes and two-bedroom apartments against individuals who have illegally entered the country.
Economists, market watchers, and even the Federal Reserve have noticed this trend occurring in both the United States and across the globe.
In a May interview with The Telegraph, Minneapolis Fed head Neel Kashkari conceded that a “dramatic increase in immigration” has put tremendous pressure on the housing sector, particularly after years of underbuilding. He told the UK newspaper:
“We under-built after the great financial crisis, we under-built homes in the US for more than a decade. So there’s a shortage of homes.
“And then you have an increased demand for housing after Covid. More people are working from home. It seems like that increased demand for housing for the existing population. And then we have a big surge in immigration in the last few years. They obviously need a place to live.
“All of these factors could be propping up demand for housing.”
Indeed, industry estimates suggest the country will need as many as six million new housing units to restore some semblance of affordability. So far, the data indicating whether the US is close to achieving these numbers are mixed. As a result, tight inventories will persist for the foreseeable future – the input costs to build new housing have surged 30% in the last three years – and $400,000 homes at a 5% to 6% mortgage rate will be the norm.
Goldman Sachs noted last year that the post-crisis recovery in immigration, which has supported population growth, has also lifted housing demand and limited declines in home prices. Experts at Bloomberg Economics explained in April that “housing shortages and associated cost-of-living strains are a common thread” in advanced economies that have witnessed per-capita recessions.
But while mass migration has impacted affordable housing, it has also worsened major urban centers’ shelter situations. From New York City to Chicago, the immense increase in the numbers of illegal aliens has applied additional pressure on systems that are already stretched to the limit. These cities have tens of thousands of homeless people and are now experiencing an influx of migrants.
Ultimately, US households and the homeless are competing for roofs and shelters with illegals.
Illegals Inflating Employment Data?
Liberty Nation has reported on the divergence between US- and foreign-born workers in the monthly jobs data. While there have been enormous fluctuations in the non-farm payrolls report, it can be concluded that foreigners have enjoyed impressive employment growth, outpacing US citizens. This has captured the attention of other groups, including the Center for Immigration Studies, which stated, “There were still 183,000 fewer U.S.-born Americans working in the fourth quarter of 2023 than in the fourth quarter of 2019, before Covid. The number of immigrants (legal and illegal) working is up 2.9 million over 2019.”
It has been repeatedly purported that undocumented migrants will do the work that Americans do not want. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) stated earlier this year that illegal immigrants are necessary to pick vegetables and keep them from rotting. Other economists and organizations admit that the influx of migrants has helped keep inflation in check, prevented prices from rising further, and allowed the US labor market to flourish since the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Will the Open-Border Policy Backfire?
The United States is stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, a housing affordability crisis and a cooling labor market could foster resentment among the populace, backfiring on politicians endorsing open borders. Conversely, federal and state governments need more bodies to fund entitlements, plug gaping budget deficits, and generate more votes at the ballot box. The extent to which mass migration is harming the typical American family is not reported on in detail by the left-wing big-box because they are still pretending there is no illegal immigration crisis.
