Immigration bursts into election housing price debate

The role that mass immigration plays in driving up housing costs has come under renewed scrutiny as soaring housing prices and rents have become a topic of debate in the presidential campaign.

Both campaigns have called for boosting the construction of homes to lower prices — that is, by focusing on the supply side. But the Republican ticket has also focused on stemming immigration to reduce demand for housing and blamed high housing costs on the immigration policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.