Large numbers of people are in or living in the U.S. illegally, including in areas far from the border such as Ohio, exacerbating the housing crisis.
Springfield Mayor Brian Heck sent an urgent letter to Sens. Tim Scott (R-Lausanne) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) pleading for federal aid after the city’s resources were stretched by the sheer number of immigrants arriving and settling in the area, despite a continuing push for housing projects.
“Springfield is experiencing a population boom due to immigration that is having a significant impact on our ability as a community to provide adequate housing opportunities for all,” Heck wrote. “Springfield’s Haitian population has grown to 15,000-20,000 over the past four years in a community that was previously home to just under 60,000 residents, placing a significant strain on our resources and ability to provide adequate housing for all of our residents.”
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio presented the letter at a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday as an example of how housing growth is reducing the supply of housing and driving up home prices.
Vance said the city of Springfield is “trying to build 5,000 new housing units, which is a huge undertaking for a town of about 55,000 people, but we also need hospital services, school services. I think this immigration issue has very real humanitarian impacts in a variety of ways.”
Since January 2021, an estimated 12 million people from more than 150 countries have entered the country illegally.
