The United States faces a housing affordability and shortage crisis as well as persistent issues of income inequality that impact economic well-being. While political rhetoric can tend to falsely blame im/migrants for these crises, the reality is that im/migrants also bear the brunt of these issues– and in many cases disproportionately so. As policymakers work to address issues of housing and income inequality in the U.S., it’s important to look at what empirical research tells us about how im/migrant well-being is impacted by a lack of affordable housing and issues of income inequality. The Im/migrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative has identified five findings on the intersection of im/migrants, housing, health, and economic well-being from empirical research:
1. Im/migrants disproportionately face higher rent burdens and housing costs.
Research suggests that renters who are of unauthorized or mixed-status families are more likely to experience high housing cost burdens than native-born households or those with legal status, creating a disadvantage in the housing market. Additionally, when considering owner households, this disparity remained. This study indicates that immigrant households with unauthorized, mixed-status, or other legal statuses are more likely to experience housing cost burdens than native-born households when it comes to owning a home.
2. Im/migrants face unique barriers to homeownership.
A report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University finds that in 2021, one in seven households was headed by foreign-born residents–half of which are naturalized citizens. The authors note a number of unique barriers that immigrants face when it comes to homeownership including one’s legal status. For example, recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program may stave off buying a home given DACA’s uncertain future legally. At least one DACA recipient has sued for housing discrimination based on their legal status.
3. Im/migrant families face higher financial stress and housing affordability issues–indicating inequities that were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A study on housing insecurity and health in the Westwood neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, found that high housing costs lead to high levels of stress and economic insecurity for low-income Hispanic/Latinx immigrant families. This disparity was particularly prevalent and exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicate that despite facing unemployment and rising rents, government aid and support were inaccessible to immigrant families because of their documentation status and/or language barriers. This exclusion of im/migrants based on legal status made it hard to cope with the economic downturn spurred by the pandemic. This disproportionately impacted im/migrant communities with effects still felt to this day.
4. Young adult migrants wrestle with impacts of gentrification.
A recent study on 1.5-generation Millennial and Gen-Z immigrants found that as a result of increasing gentrification, they are disproportionately affected by high housing costs which has contributed to negatively impacting their well-being. The interviews conducted with the participants revealed that they face extreme housing burdens, housing insecurity, and increasing displacement. The constant stress of these insecure conditions ultimately affected their sense of belonging and emotional well-being.
5. Housing is a social determinant of health and vital to well-being for im/migrants and all people.
These prominent issues of housing insecurity, homelessness, and higher housing cost burdens have acute consequences for health and well-being. Findings indicate that housing insecurity negatively affects children’s development and growth and overcrowding or doubling up on housing can affect children’s mental health, demonstrating the consequences to immigrant families’ well-being. Additionally, im/migrants, especially the undocumented, experience other social determinants of health such as lack of access to healthcare, low-income, food insecurity, and transportation barriers–which contribute to negative impacts to im/migrant health and well-being.
These findings provide a window into how immigrants and migrants in the United States are experiencing the impacts of the housing and income inequality crises. Understanding the disproportionate impacts of these issues should be at the core of policy-making efforts when developing evidence-informed policies to alleviate these problems. Additionally, it is crucial to understand the disparate impacts of these issues on immigrant communities to correct political rhetoric or narratives that blame and mischaracterize im/migrants as the cause of economic and housing issues.
Annabelle Manzo and Thomas J. Rachko, Jr.