Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s interior immigration enforcement is helping stabilize housing costs for Americans, claiming that rents in areas targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have fallen by roughly six percent after the agency leaves.
Mullin made the remarks during an event hosted by Breitbart News in Washington, D.C., where he was interviewed by the outlet’s Washington Bureau Chief, Matt Boyle. According to Breitbart’s account of the conversation, Mullin argued that allowing large numbers of immigrants into the country puts substantial pressure on housing prices — and that removing them relieves that pressure.
“When you allow that many people to come in, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the housing prices,” Mullin said. “So when we go into areas, and we do immigration enforcement, when we leave, we see the average … rent drop by about six percent … you’ve got to have national security and affordability at the same time.”
The remarks reflect a message the Trump administration has been increasingly promoting to voters as the midterm elections approach: that aggressive immigration enforcement is not only a public safety issue but an economic one that directly affects the cost of living. By framing deportation operations as a lever for lowering rents, Mullin and other officials are attempting to connect the administration’s signature domestic policy to the affordability concerns that polls show rank among voters’ top priorities.
Housing Data Cited as Evidence
Mullin’s claim follows a wave of reporting and research suggesting that the country’s housing market is cooling in some regions. Business Insider reported Tuesday that home prices in cities across Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado, among others, are falling as inventory builds up and mortgage interest rates remain above seven percent. Those trends, however, are driven by a complex mix of factors including elevated borrowing costs, increased construction, and shifting demand patterns — not solely immigration enforcement.
The administration and its allies have pointed to a growing body of economic research to support their argument that mass immigration under former President Joe Biden contributed to rising housing costs and suppressed wages. The Brookings Institution, which Breitbart described as left-wing, recently published a report acknowledging that Biden’s immigration policies — which allowed millions of migrants into American communities — “caused rents to rise by 1.4 to 1.6 percent” while reducing average wages by as much as 1.5 percent.
That Brookings report followed a series of other research papers that, according to Breitbart, suggested Biden’s mass migration had a net negative impact on Americans’ jobs, earnings, and housing prices. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that mass immigration caused housing prices to rise from early 2021 to early 2024, finding that adding more people to the U.S. population drove up costs. A Housing and Urban Development investigation published last year similarly found that Biden’s importation of millions of migrants drove up prices for low-income Americans who do not receive public assistance.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also repeatedly argued that “mass unfettered immigration … pushed up rents, especially for working Americans” during the Biden administration.
Economists Caution Against Direct Causation
While the administration’s argument draws on a real body of research linking population growth to housing demand, economists generally caution that immigration is only one of many forces shaping rents and home prices. Local housing markets are influenced by zoning laws, construction rates, interest rates, wage levels, and regional job growth. The six percent rent drop Mullin cited is not accompanied by a specific study or dataset in his remarks, and it is unclear which areas or timeframes he was referencing.
Still, the political salience of the argument is clear. With inflation having eroded purchasing power and housing affordability emerging as a central campaign issue, the White House is eager to present its enforcement policies as a form of economic relief. Whether voters accept that framing — and whether the rent declines Mullin describes can be independently verified across the communities where ICE has conducted operations — will likely be tested in the months ahead.
The event Tuesday was part of a broader effort by the administration to communicate directly with conservative media audiences, bypassing mainstream outlets that officials often accuse of downplaying immigration enforcement or framing it negatively. Mullin’s appearance with Breitbart, a friendly venue, allowed him to make his case without the adversarial questioning he might face elsewhere.
For now, the secretary’s claim stands as a political assertion backed by anecdotal observation rather than a peer-reviewed study. But it fits neatly into a larger narrative the Trump administration is building: that securing the border and enforcing immigration laws inside the country produces tangible financial benefits for American citizens, from higher wages to lower housing costs.
As the midterms draw closer, expect to hear that argument repeated — and scrutinized — with increasing frequency.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/06/exclusive-dhs-secretary-markwayne-mullin-ice-raids-help-stabilize-rents-home-prices/