The nation’s top housing official is blaming housing market woes on “unchecked illegal immigration,” pointing the finger at former President Joe Biden for policies he claims “have plagued America’s housing market.”
In interviews on Fox programs this week, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner repeatedly blamed housing affordability concerns on “illegal aliens coming over, taking homes that are supposed to be for the American people.” He promoted a HUD “crime hotline,” encouraging people to report “illegal aliens, illicit things going on, nefarious activity.”
The administration’s immigration focus is nothing new. In May, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is overseen by HUD, started banning H-1B visa holders and other nonpermanent residents from taking out new FHA mortgages.
FHA loans accounted for about 19% of the overall mortgage market last month, according to Optimal Blue. But the nonpermanent resident share of FHA mortgage locks has been drastically curtailed this year, falling to a mere 0.2% in September compared to 3.8% in September 2024.
One former HUD official was sharply critical of the current administration’s actions.
“Eliminating an entire category of buyers isn’t helpful to the mortgage industry,” they told Scotsman Guide. “FHA mortgages were not previously available to immigrants here illegally, so this affects only people who have come to the U.S. through the proper channels.”
The administration’s moves have also received pushback from organizations like the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition.
“This is yet another Trump administration smokescreen — they talk and talk about ‘illegal immigration,’ but again and again, their policies target lawfully present immigrants and the millions of U.S. citizens in immigrant families,” Esther Reyes, PIF movement building director, told Scotsman Guide.
Reyes added: “After nearly a year, HUD under Scott Turner has done nothing on housing affordability, and instead of this lame distraction, they should get serious about this critical problem.”
During a Fox Business interview on “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday, Turner maintained the nation’s affordability challenges were due to immigration.
“We cannot forgo the thought that because of illegal immigration, because of people coming to our country, prices have risen. Supply has been squeezed,” Turner said. “But we’re working very hard at HUD, along with the president and other leaders in the administration, to bring down the cost and raise the supply.”
Separately on Wednesday, HUD continued the Trump administration’s trend of posting fake covers of “Franklin the Turtle” books on social media, juxtaposing the text “Franklin Reports Illegals in Public Housing” with an illustration depicting an immigration raid.
This comes after the publisher of “Franklin the Turtle,” Kids Can Press, condemned the administration’s previous usage of the “beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy and inclusivity.”
