Is Affordability Related to Immigration Policies?

Affordability is one of the words that politicians use to discuss the conditions in the United States. They say that the results of the 2026 mid-term election will be based on affordability.

According to Steve Cortes, president of the League of American Workers, affordability is related to border security. He says that the United States has “the right – and obligation – to prioritize the well-being of our citizens, and “immigration enforcement achieves two macro-objectives at once: It makes America safer while also attacking the systemic affordability crisis.” He claims that the “evidence is already compelling. The early economic returns on immigration enforcement are nothing short of stunning.”

Fewer Illegal Aliens, Higher Wages

Real wages are the “mother’s milk” of Main Street prosperity. Most Americans do not own enough investments to really thrive from rising asset prices. Instead, their financial vitality flows form their paychecks, adjusted for the prices they must pay for the goods and services they need.

Thankfully, under President Donald Trump, real wages have risen every single month of his presidency. A big share of those benefits accrues to blue-collar workers, as this administration produces the best working-class wage growth for a new term since Richard Nixon took office in 1969. In contrast, during the Biden years, real wages declined every single month for two straight years, the worst such streak on record. These gains result largely from at least 2.5 million illegal aliens leaving America, through self-deportations as well as removals. In industries like trucking and construction, with large segments of foreign workers, pay jumps for U.S. citizens. Even the biased New York Times recently admitted that “construction wages have been rising” due to immigration enforcement.

Border Control Equals Rent Control

Masses of illegal aliens crowd out citizens in the housing market. According to Apartment List, since Trump took office, national rent prices for Americans have actually declined by 1.4%. CNBC called the current trend “one of the more renter-friendly periods in a decade.” …

… A similar trend in favor of renters blossoms nationwide. The American Apartment Association survey just revealed that 40% of owners and investors across the country say immigration policies are lowering rents….

If American citizens do not have to compete against unjust, unlawful foreign workers, then they return home every day with more real pay – returning to homes that are getting more affordable, at last.

These trends point to much better days ahead for Americans, and especially for working-class strivers who were crushed by Bidenomics.

The Voter Mandate: Secure the Country, Grow Prosperity

Law-and-order makes sense economically, plus it makes for good politics.

Voter dissatisfaction over affordability is real and profound. For instance, in my most recent poll of battleground North Carolina, Trump’s approval rating dips to -14% net, 39% to 53%. By far, the lead driver is affordability. Right now, only 30% of North Carolina voters approve of the administration’s handling of inflation, and a massive 76% cite grocery costs as a primary inflation worry.

But there is good news for Republicans, too. By a big margin, the best issue for Trump is border control/immigration. Meanwhile, the Democrats leap to denounce the federal cops and restate their aggressively open borders radicalism. No wonder the Democrat brand is in free-fall. In my survey, only 30% of North Carolina voters give a positive view of Democrats, versus 54% who disapprove.

Conclusion: What’s Working, Works

So … a big political opening unfolds. The GOP can kill two birds with one shot. Keep people safe and ease their economic burden.

Immigration enforcement represents a just and reasonable policy approach. In fact, it is a perquisite to recover our culture, national security, street safety, and societal cohesion. Concurrently, sensible immigration control brings terrific economic benefits and provides a key solution to fixing the affordability crisis.