Immigrant Housing Test
Introduction
Daily, immigrants and refugees from different parts of the world enter the United States in droves. This is increasingly promoting multicultural and ethnic diversity in America. However, these immigrants are faced with different challenges of settlement. A leading concern among these challenges faced by immigrants is the problem of housing. Housing inequality and homelessness have continued to constitute limiting barriers to success and life fulfilment for many immigrants in the United States. Specifically, housing segregation is one major complicated challenge for many immigrants. Studies indicate that immigrants are more likely to spend more of their income on rent compare to native-born. This reality often alters the dream of homeownership for many immigrants, which often negatively impacts other aspects of their lives.
This paper examines the many challenges faced by immigrants in terms of access to quality and affordable housing. The paper draws on existing literature to reify the frustrating immigrant housing experience in the United States and how this constitutes a form of social inequality for immigrants. In addition, the study examines how factors like race, immigration status, religion and language form major catalysts of immigrant housing discrimination. From a personal experience as an international student, I have experienced various challenges with housing. These include my inability to provide certain citizenship details, including an American guarantor, social security details, and other documents to rental agencies. This posed some initial difficulties to my settling down and completing the necessary school registration. This personal experience is one of the challenges faced by immigrants in the United States.
(I hope to share a video on the history of tenements in the United States: https://interactive.wttw.com/ten/homes/tenement)
Immigrant Housing Challenges: Literature Review
Immigrant housing discrimination remains an important debate in migrant scholarship. Particularly, the hardship faced by immigrants in North America has necessitated constant scholarly appraisal of the immigrant housing experience. A study by Kenneth Dion indicates that immigrants of color particularly experience housing discrimination more than white immigrants. According to Dion’s report on Housing Discrimination, several surveys were carried out to study immigrant housing discrimination. These surveys focused on perceived discrimination and housing audit. Perceived discrimination survey, as Dion explains, gathers information from questionnaires and interviews with minority households regarding housing inequality. Dion reports that Africans and Asians have the highest rate of perceived discrimination as against other white minority groups like the Italians, Jews, and the Portuguese (Dion 524).
Also, several researchers have shown that individual or group immigrant discrimination is based on several factors. This include race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, language and nationality. For example, studies show that immigrant housing experience varies from one individual minority group to another, as dictated by different factors. Some immigrant experience housing segregation as a result of their intersecting minoritized identities. For instance, a Somalian woman may experience housing discrimination due to her status as a Black immigrant Muslim woman[1].
In another study, Kenneth Dion investigates immigrant housing discrimination, using a method of fair housing audit. Housing audit is the use of audit teams to check the excesses of rental and real estate agents. These audit members include both minority and majority representatives[2]. The audit team's results indicate a less favorable treatment of minority housing seekers than their majority counterparts. This survey shows clear evidence of housing inequality as a result of racial and ethnic prejudice, especially among immigrants. The Black and Hispanic auditors who posed as homebuyers and apartment seekers were shown 25% fewer apartments than the white auditors. Some of these rental agents denied and ignored Black and Hispanic auditors. Dion maintains that racial discrimination is a major factor in immigrants housing challenges.[3]
In another research on immigrant housing, Dalia Gonzalez et al. describe the hardship experienced by undocumented immigrants in assessing public housing or fair mortgage for homeownership due to their legal status. In their report, Gonzalez et al. illustrate how housing policies affect immigrant community regarding homeownership and government housing assistance. The authors note that the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and Federal Housing Authority issued unofficial guidelines that considered Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals (DACA) recipient unqualify for mortgage approvals in late 2018[4]. Despite the legal protection on DACA recipients to live in the country, they are denied basic rights to own a house. The recipients are denied fair and just mortgages. With this, some housing agencies have considered DACA applicants as unqualified for housing loans.
Also, Monsy Alvardo reports that a Mexican by the name Fernando Aparico-Rojas was denied access to homeownership because of his DACA status[5]. In the news, Fernando, an undocumented immigrant was exempted from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival. This program allowed him to work legally as an essential laboratory worker in New York. Fernando has been trying to buy a house for months without success. He claimed that all his offers were rejected because of his DACA status. [6]This is one of the numerous issues of immigrant housing disparity. Fernando claims that his denial is not due to his income or profession but because he is an undocumented immigrant.
Furthermore, according to a 2018 news article in The Washington Post, former president Donald Trump proposed to ban immigrant access to federal housing subsidies.[7] The target victims of this presidential ban were undocumented immigrants in the United States. This act was aimed at rendering many immigrants homeless on the streets of America. As the report reveals, about 32,000 households receiving federal housing subsidies were undocumented residents who would be rendered ineligible for any form of housing benefit. Also, the National Low-income Housing Coalition announced that between 22000 and 25000 households receiving housing assistance are ineligible family members majorly in Texas, California and New York. As reported in The Washington Post article, undocumented immigrants and their family members in legal status are liable to lose federal housing aid. These discriminatory policies led to family separation and displacement of immigrants during Trump administration.
It also worth noting that second and third-generation immigrants experience a slight difference in treatment compared to new immigrants who are easily singled out by their accent through phone calls to rentals or assuming their nationality from their surnames. Housing discrimination also varies based on the geographic location or neighborhood of immigrant settlements in the United States. Immigrants tend to live in areas that are majorly occupied by people with whom they share ethnic and racial affiliation. These are usually isolated areas or poor neighborhoods with inadequate facilities and a high crime rate.
Immigrant Housing Discrimination and Precipitating Factors
As evident in the literature above, immigrants housing experiences are determined by some social factors which may include ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, educational attainment and language[8] (Yu 177).
According to different scholarly works on immigrants, the pattern of housing segregation among immigrants varies with race, ethnicity, and language. Scholars have drawn a connection between immigrants’ lack of access to housing and different social barriers, which include language, work opportunities and socioeconomic status. As aptly illustrated by Wan Yu, these barriers could be systemic or institutional-based on racial prejudice, language, and gender (178). While elaborating on other factors that constitute housing challenges to immigrants, Yu asserts that housing consideration is also correlated to immigrants’ characteristics such as indefinite immigrant status, lack of citizenship and permanent residency [9]. It is established that rental agencies and homeowners are always unwilling to offer apartments to immigrants, due to their unstable immigration status. This factor constitutes major housing discrimination against immigrants in the United States.
Studies have also identified racial identity as another contributing factor to immigrant housing segregation. For example, Black immigrants experience higher degree of housing segregation than Asian, Hispanic, and White immigrants[10] (Bottia17). Similarly, immigrants from Dominican Republic and Haiti live in more deplorable neighborhood than Salvadoran, Guatemalas and Mexicans [11]. Other researchers have identified zonal restriction of immigrants as another precipitating factor in immigrant housing segregation. The zonal restriction is a situation in which immigrants are restricted or conditioned to live in certain neighborhood.[12] Such locations may include historically segregated and marginalized neighborhoods with palpable evidence of poverty. This is often so, especially when immigrants become apprehensive about their undocumented status. Zonal restriction of immigrants could also be due to socioeconomic factors or restricted job opportunities.
Furthermore, studies indicate that foreign-born immigrants like Hispanics, Asians and Black immigrants are more susceptible to housing segregation than their American-born co-ethnics. This, as Bottia explains, is related to the language barrier and lower socioeconomic capacity of certain immigrants. Another major factor identified as contributing to housing segregation against immigrants is the idea of family reunification. As a result of immigration policy and the need for family protection, many undocumented immigrants prefer to live close to family members who are in legal status. This family accommodation as Bottia suggests, often leads to the concentration of immigrants in a particular location. Such immigrants attempt to create family circle away from home in other to facilitate all forms of support for one another[13]. Bottia maintains that such instances of family reunification and housing segregation are often mostly related to Hispanic and Asian immigrants.
Another major factor that contributes to immigrant housing segregation is the pattern of immigrants’ settlement. While some immigrants live in a concentrated location in the US, others tend to be dispersed around the country. For example, Carlos Teixeira investigates how varied pattern of immigrants’ settlement has continued to affect immigrant housing in the United States. Teixeira notes that some ethnic groups are known for forming enclaves while others are dispersed across different locations (Teixeira 24). This varied pattern of settlement is necessitated by different factors such as language, culture, and availability of job opportunities[14].
Also, studies have shown a decline in the rate of homeownership among immigrants due to various socio factors, finances inclusive. Also, research has shown that housing challenges are further complicated by the ethno-racial and religious identity of immigrants. For example, Chinese and Muslim immigrants face different challenges in terms of housing. Further study indicates that increasing economic globalization in transnational activities has led to proportionate increase in Chinese population in the United States. (Yu 185). Yet, Chinese immigrants continue to experience various housing challenges the chief of which is language discrimination. In a survey conducted on Chinese immigrants and language proficiency within only Rowland Heights and Monterey Parks, the result shows a staggering difference in housing access between Chinese immigrants with English proficiency and those without[15]. This linguistic barrier has continued to complicate Chinese housing experience. All these social factors continue to impact housing opportunities among immigrants in the United States.
Impact of Housing Inequality on Immigrants in the United States
In her article, “Residential Segregations; Immigrants Outcomes,” Martha Cecilia Bottia examines the experience of immigrants with residential segregation. Bottia draws attention to the impact of housing segregation on the life prospect and academic aspirations of children of immigrants[16]. Using a 2010 census report that details the racial configuration of immigrants and housing challenges, Bottia essay shows that “many immigrants live in urban systems that also tend to have a higher level of poverty” (Bottia 16). Housing segregation often translates into unequal educational opportunities and low life prospects for the children of immigrants. As Bottia further explains, immigrant children populate underdeveloped urban areas with a high level of social segregation and a corresponding poverty rate. It has been established that immigrants exhibit improved housing access with improved income and job opportunities. Similarly, poor housing access often translates into poor life prospect.
Another major impact of immigrant housing segregation is overcrowding. Overcrowding increases the wide spread of communicable diseases. According to Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler, overcrowding is common among immigrant workers in the United States. As reported by the Census Bureau of Statistics in 2018, 14.3 percent of immigrant workers live in overpopulated housing. This is four times the 3.5 percent of native-born workers residing in overpopulated housing (Camarota & Zeigler 2020)[17]. Immigrants represent one-third of workers living in overpopulated housing in 24 states across the United States.[18] (INSERT FIGURE 6)
Camarota and Zeigler clearly illustrate the possibility of immigrant-crowded housing as a result of low paid jobs. The researchers also detailed the role of overcrowded housing in pandemic outbreak. It was established that overcrowding is more common among underpaid immigrant workers. These immigrant workers are usually factory/production laborers. From the study carried out by Camarota and Zeigler, 16.5 percent of low-paid immigrants live in overcrowded house compared to 4.4 percent of native-born low wage workers[1]. Immigrants comprise 18.3 percent of all “production workers[2]” but occupied 45.9 percent of those in overpopulated housing conditions. This statistics also indicates that even with the possibility of equal job earnings among immigrants and native-born, immigrants are more likely to live in overcrowded housing than their native-born counterparts. This implies that income is not the sole predicator of overpopulated housing experience among immigrants.( insert figure 14).
As also evident in Camarota and Zeigler’s report, it is evident that overpopulated housing is common among immigrant workers. Hence, overpopulated housing by implication may lead to poor health conditions.[3]( insert overcrowded house picture)
Two tenants in front of their apartment’s door at a complex on Lincoln Avenue in Monterey Park. Credit: Yingjie Wang/LAist
Many studies have investigated how immigrants’ lack of access to quality housing impact their health. The poor condition of immigrant's house may be hazardous to their health and that of their children. According to Jaime Ballard et al., immigrants are prone to poor health conditions due to deplorable housing state. These may include lack of basic amenities, exposure to extreme weather conditions due to poor insulation, pest infestation, mold, among others[4]. Ballard et al. note that often time, some exploitive rental agents or homeowners take it upon the tenants to repair or maintain the building. Unfortunately, there are limited affordable housing alternatives for these immigrants due to some discriminatory policies or housing accessibility. These unsafe houses expose immigrants and their children to health implications such as asthma, diarrhea, and mental health issues.
More recently, news reporter Ashley Balcerzak reports immigrant housing crisis in New Jersey. According to the news article, a housing insecurity survey was conducted in Elizabeth, Passaic, and Perth Amboy on immigrant apartment renters experience[5]. The Immigrant Advocacy Group Make the Road New Jersey conducted a poll among 400 tenants in the areas to examine the cause of the soaring renter prices in New Jersey. The result of the survey indicates that one out of every five people interviewed stay in a dangerous unsafe apartment. Particularly, immigrants are conditioned to live in poor and unsafe housing conditions with no hope for repair or renovation. It is also noteworthy that these tenants sacrifice some of their necessities to afford house rent as they have no access to government housing benefits. The immigrant advocacy group reports 58,000 eviction cases filed by New Jersey homeowners in the first half of the year[6].
Another impact of immigrant housing discrimination is that it puts the children of immigrants at comparative educational disadvantage, since immigrants and their children dwell in rural areas with no access to quality education. According to Bottia, Immigrants status shapes children’s school and neighborhood experiences[7]. In fact, studies show that “immigrant children experience school segregation due to race, poverty and linguistic isolation” (Bottia 10)[8]. Thus “the ethnic, socioeconomic and language segregation has negative effects on the quality of schools immigrant children attend”[9](11). This may affect their life aspiration and achievement. Also, research shows that immigrant housing inequality may expose immigrant’s neighborhood with higher risk of crime and poverty.[10]
Conclusion
The finding in this paper indicate that immigrants are stilled faced with serious housing discrimination in the United State. The study also shows that such housing discrimination is attributable to many factors including race/ethnicity, religious, education, socioeconomic and immigration status. This poses a big question to the status of America as a free land. It also undermines the idea of the American dream that many immigrants envisage before leaving their home countries. The immigrant advocacy group Make the Road NJ recommends some practical solutions to immigrant housing crisis. These include enforcement of rent control laws to address issues on poor housing conditions. This will also enable equal access to governmental housing funds to assist low-income tenants. Furthermore, immigrants should be granted access to pro bono for counsel on any housing issues experienced by tenants. Also, immigrants make up a larger population in the United States. Hence, there is a need to address housing inequality among immigrants to support their education and economic achievement.