Vance Highlights Housing Crisis Linked to Immigration

On Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance pointed out that the rising rates of illegal immigration, coupled with insufficient housing construction, are significantly driving up home prices. This, in turn, is making the American Dream increasingly inaccessible for many.

During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Vance noted, “A lot of young people say housing costs are too high. Why? Because we brought in 30 million illegal immigrants.” He contended that these immigrants are “taking away homes that rightfully belong to Americans,” especially at a time when the nation isn’t generating enough new housing.

Vance highlighted that under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. experienced the largest wave of immigration in its history. Citing data from the Congressional Budget Office, he stated that approximately 2.4 million immigrants entered the country annually between 2021 and 2024, with around 60% coming in illegally, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis.

In contrast, he mentioned that President Trump quickly acted to close the U.S.-Mexico border and increase deportations in response to the immigration surge under Biden.

“Under the Biden administration, the price of new homes has literally doubled in four years,” Vance claimed, emphasizing that home prices have surged by 100%. In comparison, he noted that under Trump, the prices of homes and rents had increased by a mere 1% to 2%, which he considered acceptable.

Vance asserted that the Trump administration aims to facilitate housing construction, indicating that around 5 million new housing units may be necessary. He observed that Republican-led states are successfully addressing housing demands, while Democratic-led states are falling behind.

“Apart from too many illegal aliens taking Americans’ homes, one of the biggest challenges in the housing market is that not enough homes are being built in blue states,” he observed, attributing this issue to regulatory hurdles faced by builders in places like California.

The vice president also suggested that advancements in technology, such as robotics, could help expand housing supply without adversely impacting construction jobs. “There’s no robot to replace a good blue-collar construction worker,” he noted, but pointed out that robotics could assist workers by increasing efficiency and productivity. “I think you’ll see robotics help construction workers, which will lead to higher wages, which will result in more housing for Americans.”