Concerns as US Housing Secretary Announces More Deportations To Tackle Housing Crisis
- US Housing Secretary has disclosed that the foreign-born population accounted for over 60 per cent of rental demand growth between 2021 and 2024
- Turner said the foreign-born population grew by approximately 6 million in that three-year period, which he described as the largest such increase in US history
- The HUD secretary called for continued deportations, arguing they would free up housing for American citizens and help reduce rising rents and home prices
US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner has publicly linked illegal immigration to the country's housing affordability crisis, calling for continued deportations as part of the Trump administration's response to soaring rents and home prices.
Turner released a report on 5 July 2026 indicating that the foreign-born population accounted for more than 60% of rental demand growth in the United States between 2021 and 2024.
Source: UGC
He said the foreign-born population grew by roughly 6 million during that three-year window, which he described as the largest increase over a comparable period in American history.
Turner's case against illegal immigration
The HUD secretary argued that more than 12 million people entered the United States without adequate checks or vetting, and that this influx placed significant pressure on both housing supply and affordability.
He said the surge in demand contributed to higher home prices and rents while reducing the overall availability of housing for American citizens.
"We need to continue deportations," Turner said, framing removals of undocumented immigrants as a mechanism for freeing up housing stock.
Turner said HUD is working alongside President Donald Trump's administration and other federal agencies to increase the housing supply and drive down costs.
Scott Turner also called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, arguing that lower borrowing costs would improve housing affordability for ordinary Americans.
Trump administration policy on immigration
The claims from Turner reflect the Trump administration's official policy position, though economists have raised questions about how much weight immigration alone carries in explaining the housing crisis.
Researchers and analysts have pointed to a range of contributing factors, including limited residential construction, restrictive zoning laws, labour shortages in the construction sector, and the prolonged period of elevated interest rates that has kept mortgage costs high.
Source: Getty Images
None of those factors was addressed in Turner's remarks, which focused squarely on immigration as a primary driver of housing unaffordability.
HUD has indicated it intends to pursue a coordinated government approach to the crisis, with deportation policy, housing supply expansion, and interest rate reductions presented as complementary tools within that broader strategy.
Below is the X post of Scott Turner speaking about the housing crisis
Ghana taken to international court over deportation
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a coalition of advocacy groups filed a formal legal complaint against Ghana before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The complaint was filed on behalf of 27 people who had been deported from the United States.
At least 60 people were deported to Ghana beginning in September 2025 under what the administration described as a strategy to end illegal mass immigration and strengthen border security.
Source: YEN.com.gh
