The link is about the number of people Border Patrol caught, and thus won't be using US housing (or will be doing so legally as refugees). It's safe to assume t

The link is about the number of people Border Patrol caught, and thus won't be using US housing (or will be doing so legally as refugees). It's safe to assume there are others who don't get caught, but it provides no information about whether this is increasing, decreasing or forms a significant portion of the population growth. From 2007 to 2019 the estimated number of unauthorized immigrants was slightly declining[1], at the same time that the population of the US as a whole (and the housing shortage) was growing, so it certainly wasn't a significant part of the problem then. From 1990 to 2007, the unauthorized migrant population grew about 500k/year relative to about 3M/year total. Even unauthorized migrants accounted for 17% of the population like they did then, which is debatable, that still wouldn't account for all of the discrepancy between housing growth and population growth. So it is fair to ask for numbers that actually support the parents position. [1] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/16/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/16/what-we-k...