New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing fresh criticism over the city’s housing crisis after rents in Manhattan and Brooklyn reached record highs. Conservative commentators have argued that immigration-driven demand is putting additional pressure on an already strained rental market, despite Mamdani’s campaign promises to make housing more affordable.
Median rents in Manhattan rose to $5,295 in June, while Brooklyn’s median rent reached $4,350, according to an analysis by the Corcoran Group, a real estate firm.
The latest available demographic data shows that about 38% of New York City residents were born outside the United States. Foreign-born residents also occupy roughly 40% of the city’s rental units. However, the data does not separate legal immigrants from people living in the country illegally, making it difficult to determine how much illegal immigration has contributed to rental demand.
Conservative radio host Andrew Wilkow pointed to New York’s sanctuary-city policies while responding to reports of rising rents.
“You declared yourself a sanctuary city. You ‘welcomed’ hundreds of thousands of illegals. Then you had to find places to put them,” Wilkow wrote on X. “That put pressure on housing supply. Shortages create price increases. It’s pretty simple.”
Research has found a connection between immigration and housing costs, although the size and long-term effect remain debated.
A 2003 paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia concluded that immigration tends to raise rents and property values in the cities where immigrants settle. According to the study, an immigration increase equal to 1% of a city’s population was associated with an approximately 1% rise in average rents and housing values.
A more recent paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in March found that a 1% increase in the number of illegal immigrants working in a particular area was associated with a 1.4% increase in rental prices. The researchers attributed the increase largely to local housing construction failing to keep pace with population growth.
Both studies represent the conclusions of their authors and do not reflect official positions of the Federal Reserve System or its regional banks.
“Young Americans compete for housing with millions of foreign arrivals,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, wrote Monday in response to New York City’s latest rent figures.
Data from the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey shows that the share of renter households associated with foreign-born residents increased from 37% in 2020 to 40% in 2023, the most recent year available. The survey does not record residents’ immigration status, so it remains unclear whether people living in the country illegally account for a growing percentage of renters.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine responded to reports of rising rents by calling for policies that would increase the city’s housing supply. He recommended rezoning more neighborhoods to allow additional residential construction, investing in affordable housing projects, and reducing regulations that make building more expensive or time-consuming.
Conservative lawyer Mike Davis dismissed that approach with a brief response on X: “How about deporting illegals?”
The broader relationship between immigration enforcement and housing prices is complicated. The White House has claimed that falling rents in parts of the South and Southwest are partly the result of deportations. Critics dispute that explanation and argue that changing market conditions, increased construction, and regional population shifts have also played major roles.
A March 2024 academic study suggested that large-scale deportations could increase housing prices by reducing the construction workforce and making new homes more expensive to build. The authors acknowledged, however, that removing people from the country could also reduce housing demand in some areas.
Mamdani made housing affordability a central part of his mayoral campaign. His proposals included freezing rent increases for rent-stabilized tenants, building 200,000 affordable homes, and strengthening protections for renters.
Since taking office, Mamdani has secured a rent freeze for rent-stabilized leases, introduced a plan intended to build or preserve 400,000 affordable homes, and taken steps to expand access to rental assistance vouchers.
His critics argue that those measures have not addressed the pressures affecting the wider rental market.
“Zohran Mamdani ‘froze the rent’ and served himself some taxpayer-funded cake,” RedState writer Bonchie posted on X, referring to Mamdani’s public celebration of the rent freeze earlier this summer. “Then rents hit an all-time high, vacancy rates reached the highest since COVID, and he proposed a 20% raise for himself. Incredible stuff.”
