Overview
- In a Fox News interview, Vice President JD Vance said housing has become unaffordable because the U.S. was “flooded with 30 million illegal immigrants” and argued the country needs about 5 million new homes.
- Reporters and analysts disputed the 30 million figure, citing estimates of roughly 11 million to 18.6 million unauthorized immigrants from the American Immigration Council, Pew Research Center, the Center for Migration Studies, the Center for Immigration Studies, and FAIR.
- The New York Post noted CBO data showing about 2.4 million immigrants per year entered the U.S. from 2021 to 2024, with Goldman Sachs estimating about 60% were unauthorized, figures that still fall short of Vance’s assertion.
- Commentary questioned the logic of blaming low-wage immigrants for buying up homes and warned that mass deportations could sideline construction labor and slow homebuilding.
- Vance also said Republican-led states keep up with housing demand better than blue states because of lighter regulation and promoted robotics as a way to speed construction.