Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2020) – A panel discussion on the Center for Immigration Studies new report, Overcrowded Housing Among Immigrant and Native-Born Workers, will be streamed live today at 11:00 a.m. EDT. There is significant literature, including some new research on Covid-19, indicating that overcrowded housing increases the spread of communicable diseases. Of course, many factors having nothing to do with immigration have also contributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Center’s study finds that 14.3% of immigrant workers live in overcrowded housing, four times the 3.5% for native-born workers. Due to their high rates of overcrowding, immigrants account for nearly half of all workers living in overcrowded households. And, in a number of occupations, they are an outright majority. Many of these occupations are thought to be essential during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Steven Camarota, the Center’s director of research and co-author of the report, and Dr. Peter Skerry a professor of political science at Boston College and a past senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, will discuss the extent to which immigration has contributed to overcrowding and the value of reducing future immigration levels.
“Reducing future immigration levels would reduce overcrowding over time,” said the Center’s Director of Research Steven Camarota. He added, “Less immigration would also help reduce crowding by putting upward pressure on wages for existing workers, immigrant and native-born [WU1] alike.”
The panel can be watched on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Among the findings:
- Immigrant workers are four times as likely as native-born workers to live in overcrowded housing. As a result, they comprise 17% of all workers, but 46% of workers living in crowded conditions.
- Immigrant workers make up a large share of workers living in overcrowded housing in many sectors thought to be essential during the Covid-19 epidemic, including those in production, healthcare support, transportation and moving, food preparation, sales, and farming.
- In specific occupations within these sectors, immigrants (legal and illegal) comprise a disproportionate share of workers in overcrowded conditions. For example:
– Immigrants are 47% of farmworkers, but 76% of such workers in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 41% of packers/packagers, but 68% of such workers in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 32% of butchers/meat processors, but 64% of such workers in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 28% of cooks, but 57% of cooks in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 30% of bakers, but 53% of bakers in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 29% of health care aides, but 52% of health care aids in crowded housing.
– Immigrants are 22% of food prep. workers, but 50% of prep. workers in crowded housing.
- In 24 states immigrants account for more than one-third of workers in overcrowded households.
- Overall, immigrants are much more likely than native-born workers to work in low-wage jobs, reside in urban areas, and live in larger households; this partly explains why they are much more likely to live in overcrowded conditions.
- However, even taking into account wages, household size, and the population density where they live, immigrants are still much more likely to reside in overcrowded housing.
- Cultural preferences about personal space and immigrants’ desire to send money home rather than spend it on housing likely help to explain immigrants’ higher rates of overcrowding compared to the native-born, even when controlling for several factors at once.
- Despite the differences between immigrants and natives, it is clear that immigrants, as well as the native-born, have much lower rates of overcrowding the higher their wages.
- Paying higher wages to workers would almost certainly reduce overcrowding. Curtailing the future flow of legal and illegal immigrants into the country would help raise wages and reduce the direct impact immigration has on crowding. Other policies that raise wages should also be considered, such as increasing the minimum wage and strengthening labor unions.
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