By Brad Beckett on July 14, 2026

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says illegal immigration drove up housing costs.  Specifically, from 2021 to early 2024, the U.S. saw a historic surge in unauthorized immigration that slowed sharply by mid-2024. Using newly available administrative data, researchers found unauthorized immigrant workers increased employment almost one-for-one without significantly lowering local wages.  Click here to read more.

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says illegal immigration drove up housing costs.  Specifically, from 2021 to early 2024, the U.S. saw a historic surge in unauthorized immigration that slowed sharply by mid-2024. Using newly available administrative data, researchers examined how these immigration flows affected local labor and housing markets. They found unauthorized immigrant workers increased employment almost one-for-one without significantly lowering local wages.

However, the added population increased demand for housing, driving up home prices and rents while housing supply remained largely unchanged. The study also found lower labor income per capita, reflecting changes in workforce composition, and a significant reduction in government transfer payments, providing new evidence for immigration policy and economic debates.

“Thus, the unauthorized immigration boom acted as a supply shock to local labor markets as a whole. In contrast, we find that unauthorized immigrant worker flows increased local house prices and rents, without significantly expanding new housing supply. Thus, the unauthorized immigration boom acted as a housing demand shock, boosting prices in the face of relatively inelastic short-run housing supply.”

Click here to read the full report at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.