JD Vance Clashes With Heckler After Tying Housing Crisis to Immigration: 'We Want Americans to Afford the American Dream'

Vice President JD Vance engaged in a heated exchange with on Monday while arguing that undocumented immigrants are a key factor driving up housing prices in the United States.

Speaking at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., Vance contended that an influx of undocumented immigrants over the past four years has intensified competition for a limited housing supply, contributing to rising costs.

"When we talk about housing and why costs are so high, we don't talk enough about demand. And one of the drivers of increased housing demand, we know, is that we've got a lot of people over the last four years who have come into the country illegally"

His remarks prompted objections from a member of the audience, to which Vance responded: "I see one of our nice representatives out here wants to actually, I guess, continue to flood the country with illegal immigrants, making your communities and citizens unaffordable." He then added:

"But ma'am, with all respect, one of the reasons why we're doing what we're doing is because we want to make it more affordable for Americans to live"

It's no the first time that the vice president has suggested a link between housing prices and undocumented immigrants. During the 2024 vice-presidential debate he claimed that illegal immigration has directly impacted the affordability of housing:

"Look, in Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you've got schools that are overwhelmed, you've got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you have go housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes"

Trump was also a heavy supporter of the concept during the campaign trail and even proposed banning undocumented immigrants from obtaining home mortgages, claiming that such a measure would help lower home prices.

Economists who specialize in the real estate market have said the factors driving up home prices are structural, including a construction downturn following the 2007-09 Great Recession. At the same time, analysts point to the fact that millennials have reached the prime age for buying their first homes, driving up housing demand while baby boomers are still largely in their own houses, contributing to the supply crunch. By contrast, the role of immigrants in driving up real estate prices isn't as clear cut, they say.

Despite the controversy, Vance maintains that restricting undocumented immigration is essential to easing the housing burden on American citizens. "We want Americans to be able to afford the American dream of home ownership," he said Monday. "When people own their homes, they have more of a stake in their neighborhoods, cities, and the country as a whole."