Kari Lake says illegal immigration adding to housing affordability crisis

EXCLUSIVE — Arizona Republican Senate contender Kari Lake said the explosion of immigration over the past few years has hurt housing affordability.

Lake, a former TV news anchor and 2022 GOP gubernatorial candidate, told the Washington Examiner during an interview focused on economic policy that the flood of immigrants into the United States has had deleterious effects on the country.

Lake, 54, is a staunch opponent of illegal immigration and has made the border crisis one of the biggest issues in her campaign to represent the state in the Senate. She argued that illegal immigration and net inflows of immigrants have further deteriorated housing affordability.

“These are real people. And they have to be put up in housing that we frankly don't have enough of for American citizens,” Lake said. “So all of a sudden, there's a lack of supply and a huge uptick in demand, and that's going to what? Bring the price rate up.”

While inflation is the No. 1 economic concern facing voters, the housing market has also become a challenging environment. Mortgage rates have soared as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates restrictive, and housing prices have increased because of a lack of supply .

Lake, who is likely to face Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in a crucial toss-up election, also contends that immigration will drive down wages for working-class people because of the influx of labor. She said many of these immigrants will end up working in the service industry and other industries.

“And those are going to drive down wages, whether you like it or not, whether Joe Biden acknowledges it or not,” Lake said. “When you have 10 million people that are here, and they are starting to work, that's taking jobs away from Americans and driving down wages.”

Lake is a major supporter of former President Donald Trump, who has also made safeguarding the border a centerpiece of his campaign. Trump has cast immigration policy as a question of not only law and order and public safety but also economics .

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In a series of videos posted to his campaign website, Trump noted that the U.S. is trillions of dollars in debt and said Biden is trying to give public benefits to immigrants through higher taxes.

“So not only is Crooked Joe surrendering your borders and your sovereignty, he is stealing your hard-earned money to redistribute it to people who have no business being in our country,” Trump said.