Biden's illegal immigration surge caused higher rent and home prices, Fed study finds

A new Federal Reserve working paper found the record surge in illegal immigration during the Biden administration came at a cost to one of the nation's fiercest political debates: higher home prices and rent rates.The findings arrive as immigration remains a defining political issue, with Republicans arguing former President Joe Biden's border policies strained housing and public resources while Democrats have pointed to immigration as helping ease labor shortages and support economic growth.The new report, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas by compiling individual immigration court records and government administrative data, is among the first comprehensive efforts to measure how the unprecedented wave of illegal migration between 2021 and 2024 impacted local economies and affected local labor markets.A PROBLEM HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT IS KEEPING AMERICANS FROM BUYING HOMESAccording to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report, a 1% increase in unauthorized immigrant worker flows raised local home prices by about 2.2% and rents by roughly 1.4%.(Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg/Getty Images)The authors cautioned that the paper is a preliminary draft circulated for professional comment and that its findings do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System.Researchers found the influx of illegal immigrants boosted local employment with little measurable effect on wages, but came with a trade-off of increasing housing demand enough to drive up home prices and rents.The researchers found that illegal immigrant worker inflows increased local employment "approximately one-for-one," meaning a 1% increase in unauthorized workers relative to a local area's workforce corresponded with roughly a 1% increase in overall employment.

The study found no evidence that the immigration surge lowered average wages.THE KEY STRATEGY RED STATES ARE USING TO LOWER HOUSING COSTS REVEALEDThe Trump administration made securing the ...