Migrant crisis pushes US homelessness to record high in 2024

NEW YORK -- Homelessness in the United States soared to its highest level since the federal government began keeping track nearly 20 years ago, according to a new report from the Joe Biden administration, driven by high rents and a lack of affordable options but also a crush of migrants claiming asylum at the US border with Mexico.

Nearly 772,000 people were counted as homeless on a single night in January 2024, an 18 percent increase over the prior year's count, which itself set a record for the number of homeless people nationwide. The count includes more than 80,000 families with children, whose ranks grew dramatically, up 39 percent over 2023, Bloomberg News on Friday cited the government report.

This surge in family homelessness as well as unsheltered homelessness, up about 7 percent, is due in part to the state of the border back in January, when an influx of migrants overwhelmed shelter systems in New York City, Denver, Chicago and other cities, noted the report.

That crisis has abated since June, when Biden took executive action to clamp down on asylum claims, according to officials from the White House and US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Unlawful border crossings are down substantially.