Impact of Housing Inequality on Immigrants in the United States
Another major impact of immigrant housing segregation is overcrowding. Overcrowding increases the 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). Immigrants represent one-third of workers living in overpopulated housing in 24 states across the United States.
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 the 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 houses compared to 4.4 percent of native-born low wage workers. Immigrants comprise 18.3 percent of all “production workers” but occupied 45.9 percent of those in overpopulated housing conditions. This statistic 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.
As also evident in Camarota and Zeigler’s report, overpopulated housing is common among immigrant workers. Hence, overpopulated housing by implication may lead to poor health conditions.
Many studies have investigated how immigrants’ lack of access to quality housing impact their health. The poor condition of an 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 the deplorable state of housing. These may include lack of basic amenities, exposure to extreme weather conditions due to poor insulation, pest infestation, and mold, among others. 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. 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 rental 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 a 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.
Another impact of immigrant housing discrimination is that it puts the children of immigrants at a comparative educational disadvantage since immigrants and their children dwell in rural areas with no access to quality education. According to Bottia, immigrant status shapes children’s school and neighborhood experiences. In fact, studies show that “immigrant children experience school segregation due to race, poverty, and linguistic isolation” (Bottia 10). Thus “the ethnic, socioeconomic and language segregation has negative effects on the quality of schools immigrant children attend”. This may affect their life aspiration and achievement. Also, research shows that immigrant housing inequality may expose immigrant neighborhoods to a higher risk of crime and poverty.
