The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has publicly encouraged citizens to report migrants without legal status in their area, framing the action as a potential pathway to more affordable housing.

"Want affordable housing? Help report illegal aliens in your area," DHS wrote in a post on X.

However, the executive director of Protecting Immigrant Families told Newsweek the comments are a "smokescreen."

DHS's post comes against a backdrop of acute housing shortages and rising unaffordability across the United States. According to one 2025 analysis, the U.S. faces a shortfall of about two million homes, a gap driven both by under-building and the formation of “pent-up households” that never materialized because of high costs.

Rentals in particular are under pressure. Nearly half of

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