Trump Deportation Push Cuts Rents Across America, Navarro Claims

By Sam Barron | Thursday, 19 February 2026 09:22 PM EST
White House senior adviser Peter Navarro stated on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s policies are making things more affordable for Americans, especially housing.

“Housing costs represent the largest portion of Americans’ budgets,” he said. “If you want to win the affordability battle, that’s where we start—and we have won.”

Navarro noted rents increase by 1% for every million people who enter the United States illegally. He claimed that during Joe Biden’s four years as president, “we had 20 million [illegal immigrants]. So rents went up nationally by 20%, because Joe Biden left that border open.” Rent increases have been particularly severe in cities such as New York and Chicago.

“We’ve deported thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens,” Navarro said. “And already, we’re seeing rents drop dramatically across many American cities. It’s a beautiful thing.”

He added: “Things are stabilizing, but it takes time for these benefits to work nationwide.”

Navarro acknowledged that while the Trump administration has made progress in deportations, there remains more work to do. “We have not won this fight until we deport those 20 million who drove up rents, took our jobs, and depressed wages,” he said.

He also stated: “Housing is doing much better because of our border security policy. People must understand that supporting deportations is critical.”

Navarro concluded by saying: “If Democrats want to fight affordability in the 2026 midterms, bring it on.” He further explained: “It’s not just getting inflation down and lowering prices—we are also driving real wages up. And that’s happening under Donald Trump, just like during his first term, but did not happen with Joe Biden.”