Demanding more refugee migrants in Arlington, Virginia

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (founded with private money to help Jews settle in the U.S.; currently running with tax dollars to bring in non-Jews) helped set up a protest at National Airport in Arlington, Virginia: “Waiting for Refugees Who Are Not Coming”. They demand at least 95,000 migrants right now.

What if the refugee-migrants did show up? Can they sign up for a taxpayer-subsidized house? From the Arlington ministry of housing:

No. The Housing Choice Voucher Program wait list is closed and we are not accepting new applications. We do not anticipate that the waitlist will be opened for several years. …. The average wait for a voucher is approximately 5 years. There are many families and individuals who have applied for housing assistance and are on the waiting list for the Housing Choice Voucher Tenant-Based program.

Maybe things are better in the semi-private sector? “Arlington’s Affordable Housing Crisis” (Arlington Magazine, February 19, 2019):

Arlington’s affordable housing shortage has grown increasingly dire in recent years. And that’s before Amazon announced plans to bring 25,000 new jobs—and more people needing places to live—to the area.

A county report issued in 2017 surmised that only about 8.2 percent of Arlington’s housing stock—9,369 units—was affordable for households earning less than 60 percent of [area median income].

What about a little farther away? Somewhere else in the Greater D.C. area? “Northern Virginia’s growing crisis in affordable housing” (The Arlington Catholic Herald, August 30, 2019):

Years ago, people with low incomes could easily find a market-rate affordable apartment, that is, a dwelling place in a privately owned complex that had relatively low monthly rent because of the age of the building, lack of amenities or a less desirable location. An apartment is considered affordable if people making 60 percent of the area median income spend 30 percent or less of their income on rent.

Now, those market-rate affordable apartments, also known as MARKs, are nearly gone. Officials in Arlington and Alexandria say they have lost approximately 29,000 MARKs in the past 19 years mostly due to rent increases.

Maybe it was better back in 2013 before Donald Trump ruined everything? “3,600 apply for 122 new Arlington apartments” (Washington Post, 2013).

So… the HIAS folks are standing in a town where, due to population growth and consequent market demand, Americans can no longer afford to live. After commuting in through a multi-hour traffic jam, they’re holding signs demanding the importation of migrants who will need to compete for the same housing supply and highway capacity.

Related:

  • What were garages for people born in the mid-20th century will be homes for their children and grandchildren (NYT on California)

12 thoughts on “Demanding more refugee migrants in Arlington, Virginia

  1. Flash flooding in the spring from heavy rain caused tens of millions in damage. The root cause is over-development and density on land that can’t ecologically accommodate it. But these people want to go on about a shortage of apartment towers.

  2. They all go to Calif* & get zero interest mortgages they could never dream of in their foreign shit holes. They’re the smart ones while the old timers scarred by tightwads like Paul Volker, Alan Greenspan, & Ben Bernanke lose all their money to inflation. Arlington is right in the middle of it all, a high life for refugees after they make their fortune flipping houses.

  3. “An apartment is considered affordable if people making 60 percent of the area median income spend 30 percent or less of their income on rent.” really bothers me. Liberal propaganda says someone is “rent burdened” if they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. What about me? I spend over 60% of my income on taxes. Why am I not “tax burdened”? I would love to know who came up with this 30% rule. We hear about it all the time in California where we encourage unlimited immigration and a whole 10% of our population is illegal.

    • Good news: You’re paying your “fair share” so by definition you aren’t “tax-burdened”.

      https://www.npr.org/2019/06/10/731311422/californias-budget-proposal-would-expand-health-care-to-some-undocumented-immigr

      says that the undocumented in California are now eligible for state- and federal-funded free health care (Medi-Cal, a.k.a. Medicaid). Since they’re actually being paid with tax dollars to stay in California, it seems unfair to call them “illegal”. I don’t think “undocumented” works either, since they now have Medi-Cal documents, presumably. It seems that they can get a free food document as well: http://mycalfresh.org/immigrants/ says “Will I be deported if I apply for CalFresh for my children? No. CalFresh does not share your information with immigration authorities.” Once they’re on Medi-Cal or CalFresh they get a free smartphone: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/lifeline/

      It also looks as though “undocumented” immigrants will have some documents for their free public housing (see https://www.kqed.org/news/11759895/thousands-of-families-could-lose-housing-in-california-under-trump-proposal for how the cruel Trump Administration is trying to shut this off, but that just means Californians can fund it themselves with state taxes.)

      Maybe we could call them “future Americans”?

    • I consider my fair share of taxes to be zero. Same as the bums are paying, I’m not asking for any preferential treatment.

    • So those illegals who are in California can get free food through “CalFresh” but those legals in New Jersey [1] must pay $3 for the school lunch?

      And if that’s not enough, those in NJ are being punished by not being allowed to attend prom or taking part in extra-curricular activities if they owe lunch money but those law breakers in CA are rewarded with smartphone?!!

      [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50152383

    • Phil the one objection I have to your comment is… What exactly is my “fair share”? I think I pay about 65-70% of my income in taxes. Many liberal politicians still complain about “income inequality”. I am pretty sure for them my fair share of taxes would be 100%!

    • Toucan: That’s the beauty of central planning. Every year the “fair share” can be redefined to suit circumstances. And, to make the rake less upsetting, it can be divided up into federal income tax, state income tax, local income tax, property tax, sales tax, excise tax, user fees, etc.

    • Since they’re actually being paid with tax dollars to stay in California, it seems unfair to call them “illegal”. I don’t think “undocumented” works either, since they now have Medi-Cal documents, presumably.

      Republicans and other fans of smaller government should like this. They usually say that they would like power to be shifted from DC to state governments. States like California are taking the lead in deciding who can live in the state.

    • Vince: I think the issue is that Californians are trying to enjoy all of the benefits of migrants while pushing the costs onto taxpayers in other states (by using Federal Medicaid, public housing, food stamp, and Obamaphone dollars). I do think that states should be free to host as many migrants as they want as long as they are willing to pay the full cost. I wrote about that in https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2018/01/28/compromise-unlimited-haitians-for-communities-that-prepare-to-welcome-them/ :

      So if people in San Francisco want to build a 1000-unit apartment complex for Haitian immigrants, and folks will be permanently entitled to live there by paying a defined fraction of their income in rent ($0 in rent for those with $0 in income), and San Francisco commits to build additional apartment complexes in which any children or grandchildren of these immigrants can live, why should the Federal government stand in the way of their dreams? (Of course, the city and state would also have to pay 100 percent of the costs of Medicaid, food stamps, Obamaphones, and any other welfare services consumed by these immigrants or their descendants.)

  4. If you want affordable housing tryNorth Carolina, but not Raleigh/Durham. Something North of Charlotte.

  5. What is housing? Mine blew away last October in Hurricane Michael. We have kinda enjoyed being “between” houses, though.

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