Blue States Ask American Taxpayers to Subsidize Housing for Poor Afghans

Some blue states are mulling plans to ask American taxpayers to subsidize housing for newly arrived Afghans brought to the United States by President Joe Biden’s administration as they struggle to afford housing costs in particular cities.

The Biden administration is hoping to bring 95,000 Afghans to the U.S. over the next 12 months. Already, about 37,000 Afghans are in the U.S. and will soon need housing in about 46 states.

In certain cities and regions, Afghans running into high housing costs — partially pushed up by the nation’s legal immigration levels that bring millions of new arrivals to the U.S. every decade, all of whom need housing and thus increase demand.

“Population growth results in higher housing costs … Aside from San Diego, they all have higher population growth rates than the nation as a whole,” NumbersUSA’s Andrew Good has previously written. “San Diego is what happens when a locality won’t, or can’t build enough additional housing to sustain higher population growth. But thanks to the aggregate pressures from national population growth, housing prices still go up.”

That impact is now reaching Afghans, most of whom have only been in the U.S. for a few weeks and are still in the process of completing their immigration processing.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants state taxpayers to foot the bill for the issue, requesting nearly $17 million to fund “cash assistance” for thousands of Afghans who will be resettled in the state. Some of that funding would go toward providing housing for Afghans. – READ MORE