On Tuesday night at the vice presidential debate, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance contended that the massive influx of illegal immigrants was causing housing prices to rise. When moderator Margaret Brennan challenged his assertion, he replied that after the debate, he would publish remarks from the Federal Reserve Board that supported his contention, which he did only hours after the debate ended.

Speaking on the issue, Vance stated at the debate, “We do want to blame Kamala Harris for letting in millions of illegal aliens into this country, which does drive up costs, Tim. Twenty-five million illegal aliens competing with Americans for scarce homes is one of the most significant drivers of home prices in the country. It’s why we have massive increases in home prices that have happened right alongside massive increases in illegal alien, alien populations under Kamala Harris’s leadership. …We have a lot of Americans that need homes. We should be kicking out illegal immigrants who are competing for those homes, and we should be building more homes for the American citizens who deserve to be here.”

Brennan then interjected, “But, Senator, on that point, I’d like for you to clarify. There are many contributing factors to high housing costs. What evidence do you have that migrants are part of this problem?”

“Well, there’s a Federal Reserve study that we’re happy to share after the debate,” Vance replied. “We’ll put it up on social media. Actually, that really drills down on the connection between increased levels of migration, especially illegal immigration, and higher housing prices. Now, of course, Margaret, that’s not the entire driver of higher housing prices. It’s also the regulatory regime of Kamala Harris. Look, we are a country of builders. We’re a country of doers. We’re a country of explorers. But we increasingly have a Federal administration that makes it harder to develop our resources, makes it harder to build things, and wants to throw people in jail for not doing everything exactly as Kamala Harris says that they have to do. And what that means is that you have a lot of people who would love to build homes who aren’t able to build homes.”

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A few hours later, Vance published remarks from Michelle W. Bowman, who has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2018 and spoke at the Massachusetts Bankers Association Annual Convention in Key Biscayne, Florida, on May 3. Vance wrote on X, “As promised earlier tonight, here is Michelle Bowman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.” Bowman stated:

There is a risk that strong consumer demand for services, increased immigration, and continued labor market tightness could lead to persistently high core services inflation. Given the current low inventory of affordable housing, the inflow of new immigrants to some geographic areas could result in upward pressure on rents, as additional housing supply may take time to materialize. Wage growth has remained at an elevated rate of between 4 and 5 percent, still higher than the pace consistent with our 2 percent inflation goal given trend productivity growth.

As promised earlier tonight, here is Michelle Bowman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors:

"Given the current low inventory of affordable housing, the inflow of new immigrants to some geographic areas could result in upward pressure on rents."https://t.co/dfO0wFmyPs pic.twitter.com/KfDjPaZC7G

— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 2, 2024