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In Brief

• Immigrants create housing wealth and support strong home values.
• Immigrant families face housing challenges including a lack of affordable housing, health hazards, and overcrowding.
• Family professionals can support housing by asking about immigrant client housing, connecting with resources, supporting culturally sensitive housing programs, and encouraging political engagement.

Immigrants Create Housing Wealth

There are many political narratives in our country that involve trying to bar immigrants from living in some neighborhoods. The “not-in-my-backyard” philosophy is prevalent and is voiced from both sides of the political and socioeconomic spectrums. However, our communities thrive when immigrants join us as residents. When immigrants enter a new area, rent and housing values increase. Immigrant inflow to a city of 1% is tied to increases in housing values of 1%, which contributes $3.7 trillion to home values annually (Vigdor, 2017). Immigrants generally seek out neighborhoods with low home prices, stabilizing housing values in otherwise-declining neighborhoods. In Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, for example, new immigrants offset the drastic reduction in U.S.-born American residents and likely prevented the housing market crash there that was seen in other cities like Detroit (Vigdor, 2013).

Despite bringing benefits to U.S. communities and housing values, immigrants themselves face substantial barriers to adequate housing. Housing is a prerequisite for family health and stability. As family scholars and practitioners, we must attend to the current housing crisis and how it affects families, particularly immigrant families facing additional barriers and challenges. According to True Thao, “As family professionals, we cannot ignore the basic needs of our clients’ lives. We cannot just tell them to breathe, and no one is checking if they are about to lose their apartment.”

Housing Crisis

There is a shortage of housing nationwide. More than a third of the nation’s families, and nearly half of the nation’s renters, cannot find affordable housing. These families are cost-burdened in terms of housing, meaning that they pay more for housing than they can afford and must cut back on other necessary expenses, such as food or medicine (McCue, 2018).

Although a crisis for all U.S. residents, households of color are substantially more likely to be cost-burdened when it comes to housing. Immigrants are more likely than native-born individuals to be cost-burdened, more likely to live in poor or hazardous housing conditions, and more likely to live in situations of overcrowding (Painter & Yu, 2010). Although these gaps are closing, they persist (Mengistu, 2014; Painter & Yu, 2010).

Health hazards and threats to healthy development. For various reasons, immigrants can be exposed to unsafe housing conditions such as high lead levels, poor insulation in extreme weather, and pest infestations. In the case of recent immigrants, exploitative landlords imply that the conditions are the tenants’ responsibility. Many communities lack alternative, accessible housing options, causing immigrants to remain in unsafe housing. In an observational study, nearly half of the Mexican immigrant family homes were observed to have dampness or mold, more than a quarter had pests, and 12% needed major repairs such as fixing leaky pipes. Children in these homes with pests had negative health consequences such as asthma (Litt et al., 2010).

Other housing conditions pose indirect risks to healthy development. For example, housing for farmworkers is unlikely to have enclosed play areas for their young children and likely to have unsafe conditions for outside play and be far from parks (Arcury et al., 2015).

Overcrowding. Typically, immigrant families are larger than the average U.S.-born families and households tend to be a mixture of nuclear and extended family members. It can be difficult to attain homes that can accommodate large households because of limited income and/or lack of resources (Burr, Mutchler, & Gerst, 2010). Immigrants are likely to live in situations of overcrowding, which the U.S. Census Bureau (2011) defines as having more than one person per room (Diguiseppi et al., 2012). In the process of finding adequate housing, large immigrant families are faced with trying to balance the needs of all family members and household size, such that families might forgo home quality and neighborhood safety (Dearborn, 2008).

In addition, the documentation status of immigrant family members can influence housing quality. Families without documentation in the United States are likely to have poorer residential housing and an increased likelihood of overcrowding in comparison to the situation of documented immigrants and native-born citizens (Hall & Greenman, 2013). Additionally, immigrant families lacking legal status are more likely to experience multiple housing challenges simultaneously (McConnell, 2017).

Elements that erode housing conditions. Some of the housing conditions we have mentioned arise from recent immigrants being likely to be of low socioeconomic status and being particularly constrained by the limited housing options (Hoover & Yaya, 2010). Furthermore, immigrant families can be stuck in poor housing conditions, as they are more likely to experience discriminatory practices by landlords, lack affordable housing for larger family units, have limited opportunities for recent immigrants to build credit, and face a lack of culturally adapted housing services (Oliveri, 2009; Xiong et al. 2017).

Discriminatory practices by landlords have particularly far-reaching effects. Landlords discriminate against tenants who appear foreign, even though this discrimination is illegal (Oliveri, 2009). Landlords may also discriminate on the basis of family size or maximum occupancy, which would amount to a preference for native-born individuals over immigrants with large families. In some cities, housing laws bar undocumented immigrants as renters, which fosters discrimination against all minority families. Immigrants thus can find themselves with even fewer housing options in an already-tight market.

Immigrant renters describe further exploitative practices by landlords once they are in housing (Byrne et al., 2018). For example, landlords imply that renters are responsible for pest control or maintenance, despite this generally being a landlord’s responsibility in the United States. Refugees typically do not know the “rules of the game,” so they report confusion over documents presented only in English and feeling that they have little time to review them. Immigrant renters report feeling powerless, in part because the housing options are limited and the landlord seems to hold all the cards. According to True Thao:

When you come from a society of a village, there is a society of no bills. You have a history of self-reliance with you and nature. When you come here, if you can find housing and work, it gives you a sense of moving on. For those without the health to work or the ability to find housing, the level of helplessness multiplies. The helplessness is right in your face.

Although there are resources to mediate conflict with landlords and to support improved housing, they are currently not easily accessible for immigrant tenants. Immigrant tenants are likely to report that they simply do not know from whom or where to access services, and that they cannot afford to miss work, pay for legal resources, or pay fraudulent or questionable fees to landlords (Byrne et al., 2018). Other refugee- and immigrant-serving individuals and organizations (e.g., case managers, resettlement agencies) must balance addressing families’ needs with maintaining good relationships with landlords for future clients. Most refugee service agencies are overwhelmed with coordinating all resettlement needs such as case management, basic needs support, employment counseling, and educational opportunities, all with limited human resources and specific requirements of funding sources (U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2010). An accessible outside advocate is necessary but lacking.

Implications for Supporting Immigrant Families

As True Thao shared with us, “My clients have two realities. The one track is the emotional struggle. The other reality is food, a place to sleep. Both are equally real and powerful.” As family professionals, it is in our best interest to ask about and assess needs in our clients’ housing as a method to bolster every other area of their growth and well-being. It is in our best interest as U.S. residents to support immigrant housing to assist whole-community well-being and economic growth.

Here are some tips for family professionals working with immigrant families around housing:

• Support and develop culturally sensitive housing programs and workshops (Patraporn, Pfeiffer, & Ong, 2010). When organizations offer staff who speak the same language or tailor their services to clients’ culture, minority clients have better outcomes. Language is more than just communication; it also conveys the person’s character and sophistication. Language barriers often lead to the failure to see the “whole person.”
• Empower immigrants to engage in political advocacy around housing. Immigrants currently report wrenching feelings of powerless relative to their landlords, and empowering clients to advocate for themselves can alleviate feelings of helplessness (Byrne et al., 2018).
• Help immigrant clients understand that there are basic rules that govern tenant–landlord rental agreements and help prepare them for conversations with landlords. As True Thao has noted, if clients try to bring up a concern about their housing, their landlords are likely to reply, “You have the most to lose.” Rehearsing conversations with our clients can help them be prepared to advocate for themselves.
• Increase immigrant participation in homeownership services. There are trainings available for low-income first-time home buyers. Advertising and cultural adaptation might also increase immigrant participation in these seminars (Chatterjee & Zahirovic-Herbert, 2011).
• Design financial literacy programs that are culturally sensitive for immigrants to learn about the financial practices such as credit building necessary for homeownership and to build trust in financial institutions. Previous studies on financial literacy and education interventions for immigrants tend to find changes in financial behaviors and knowledge post-design, yet gains are temporary (Barcellos, Carvalho, Smith, & Yoong, 2016). Such findings continue to support the idea that financial literacy programs must be tailored to groups, with immigrant population differences in mind.
• Work with policymakers to support legislation that invests in affordable housing, encourages housing authorities to build units that accommodate larger household sizes, and develops accessible ways to hold landlords accountable, such as pro bono legal resources with community outreach.

Complete References

Arcury, T. A., Trejo, G., Suerken, C. K., Grzywacz, J. G., Ip, E. H., & Quandt, S. A. (2015). Housing and neighborhood characteristics and Latino farmworker family well-being. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 17, 1458–1467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0126-4

Barcellos, S. H., Carvalho, L. S., Smith, J. P., & Yoong, J. (2016). Financial education interventions targeting immigrants and children of immigrants: Results from a randomized control trial. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50(2), 263–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12097 

Burr, J. A., Mutchler, J. E., & Gerst, K. (2010). Patterns of residential crowding among Hispanics in later life: Immigration, assimilation and housing market factors. Journals of Gerontology, 65B(6), 772–782. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbq069

Byrne, K. A., Kuttner, P., Mohamed, A., Reon Magana, G., & Goldberg, E. E. (2018). This is our home: Initiating participatory action housing research with refugee and immigrant communities in a time of unwelcome. Action Research, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476750318790797

Chatterjee, S., & Zahirovic-Herbert, V. (2011). Homeownership and housing equity: An examination of native-immigrant differences in housing wealth. International Advances in Economic Research, 17(2), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11294-011-9294-3

Dearborn, L. M. (2008). Immigrant homeowners: Residential choices of low- and moderate- income Hmong in Milwaukee’s central city. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 25(1), 25–41. Retrieved from https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/immigrant-homeowners-residential-choices-of-lowmoderate-income-hm

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Hall, M., & Greenman, E. (2013). Housing and neighborhood quality among undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants. Social Science Research, 42, 1712–1725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.07.011

Hoover, G., & Yaya, M. (2010). Gender differences in income inequality among immigrant populations to the United States. The Social Science Journal, 47(3), 593-608.

Litt, J. S., Goss, C., Diao, L., Allshouse, A., Diaz-Castillo, S., Bardwell, R. A., . . . DiGuiseppi, C. (2010). Housing environments and child health conditions among recent Mexican immigrant families: A population-based study. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 12, 617–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9261-8

McConnell, E. D. (2017). Rented, crowded, and unaffordable? Social vulnerabilities and the accumulation of precarious housing conditions in Los Angeles. Housing Policy Debate, 27(1), 60–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2016.1164738

McCue, D. (2018). Digging deeper: Ten striking findings from our latest state of the nation’s housing report. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Retrieved from www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/digging-deeper-ten-striking-findings-from-our…

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Patraporn, R. V., Pfeiffer, D., & Ong, P. (2010). Building bridges to the middle Class: The role of community-based organizations in Asian American wealth accumulation. Economic Development Quarterly, 24(3), 288–303. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891242410366441

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Vigdor, J. L. (2013). Immigration and the revival of American cities: From preserving manufacturing jobs to strengthening the housing market. Partnership for a New American Economy and Americas Society/Council of the Americas. Retrieved from www.as-coa.org/sites/default/files/ImmigrationUSRevivalReport.pdf

Vigdor, J. L. (2017). Immigration, housing markets, and community vitality. CATO Journal, 37(3), 487–494.

Xiong, S., Goldenrod, C., Szczepanski, C., Jaramillo, A., Norton, G., & Proescholdt, L. (2017). Key housing issues facing immigrant communities in twin cities. Minnesota Housing Partnership. St. Paul: MN. Available from www.mhponline.org/images/Immigrant-research-final.pdf