Between 2022 and 2024, the United States witnessed a historic 43% spike in sheltered homelessness—individuals residing in emergency shelters rather than on the streets. A new study reveals that a staggering 60% of that increase was fueled by a surge in asylum-seekers, posing significant challenges to social services and reigniting debate over federal immigration policy.
According to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the total homeless population grew by approximately 189,000 people over two years, increasing from 582,000 in 2022 to 771,000 in 2024. Most of this growth came from the sheltered population, which rose by about 149,000—of which an estimated 93,000 were asylum-seekers.
The term “asylum-seekers” in the study refers to all recent immigrants applying for legal residency in the U.S., regardless of their current immigration status.
This reversal in sheltered homelessness trends is dramatic. From 2007 to 2022, sheltered homelessness had declined by 12%. The sudden spike has prompted urgent scrutiny from city and state leaders—particularly in “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
The data shows that nearly three-quarters of the national increase in sheltered homelessness occurred in just four sanctuary jurisdictions: New York City, Chicago, Denver, and the state of Massachusetts (primarily suburban Boston). Collectively, these areas account for only 5% of the U.S. population.
New York City experienced the largest influx, sheltering an estimated 67,000 asylum-seekers during the two-year period. As the only major U.S. city with a “right-to-shelter” law regardless of immigration status, New York has become a magnet for recent migrants. The city’s Office of Management and Budget expects to spend upwards of $6 billion on asylum-seeker services in fiscal year 2025—up from $4.7 billion in FY2024.
In Chicago, the sheltered homeless population increased more than sixfold, from 2,600 in 2022 to 17,200 in 2024. A full 94% of that increase came from asylum-seekers. Chicago’s policies ensure access to housing, city ID cards, and municipal services for all residents, regardless of immigration status.
States that did not embrace sanctuary policies—such as Florida and Texas—did not see comparable surges in homelessness, despite high numbers of border encounters and asylum-seeker arrivals.
Analysts say these differences highlight the role of state and local policy in either mitigating or accelerating the downstream impact of federal immigration decisions.
Under the Biden administration, the number of individuals paroled into the U.S. while awaiting asylum hearings surged—from 30,500 in 2021 to an estimated 1.7 million in 2024. In total, roughly 9 million individuals entered the U.S. illegally between 2022 and 2024, according to administration data.
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, illegal border crossings have dropped sharply, and Trump has taken steps to reassert federal authority over immigration enforcement. On April 28, he signed an executive order directing the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to identify sanctuary cities and states and notify them that they risk losing federal funding if they continue to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.
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Sanctuary for “FreeLoaders” never should have happened.
Perhaps we should Institute the “Work or do not Eat” policy?
Longstanding Federal law actually prohibits releasing asylum applicants into the US pending their hearings.
It has been ignored for decades, but legally, asylum seekers must be held in Federal custody, or barred from actually entering the US, until actually granted asylum.
Well, so much for come here legally or do not come at all. That phrase is meant to clarify why these free loaders must come here legally. Why bother with closed borders now that we are overwhelmed with those who can not and will not support themselves?
Thank the Democrats who cheated in the election of 2020 and placed a senile old man in charge of the nation. Now those same DNC idiots are judge shopping to stop their deportation. Why? Because the DNC needs their votes and they are doing their best to enable what are ILLEGAL ALIENS to vote and we have to stop them. The other group who wants them here is the big business guys who want the cheap labor.
1970 was when I first realized that big business wanted the illegal aliens in the fields to pick their produce. Pay them peanuts, work em, shelter them, bus em, and no other commitments until Chavez organized them for his illegal alien union! Then they got a bit more but Chavez got much more. And the kids who in the summer picked for the growers had to look elsewhere. The growers had to pay taxes, etc. on the kids because they were citizens and had rights. Hum? I was in my early 20s at that time. Been well aware of this insider joke from that time on and politicians even rinos helped with amnesties, etc. all along. John McCain and his at the hip cronie still in congress were into it big time for decades.
Do we need term limits? Of course, but this will not go away until we really secure the border and start putting the politicians in jail and those paying them for votes in jail too. The chain of corruption must end. Then come here legally means we get people who speak and read our language which is NOT spanish, and who are capable of getting jobs and supporting themselves! I personally do my best as a retired CPA to pay the least I can in taxes because I do not want to see my money spent on the wasteful things the government actually spends our tax dollars on. And as a tax specialist when I worked I had gone head on with IRS agents and won because my records are spotless with nothing wrong for them to do but lose!
Been laughing at all the graft and corruption DOGE is digging up. Also at all the idiots he has run over trying to stop him. GO MUSK! Go Trump! There is much more to dig out and because NO ONE has ever done this before the crooked corrupt bureaucrats and politicians do not have a clue about how to hide what they have done. They have been far too sure no one would think to look at the fraud and then the trail that fraud leaves especially big fraud like DOGE is uncovering.
Then there is the other type of fraud that is not about money but power being usurped without authority. That is usually via favors. When President Eisenhower came home after WWII he warned about the business complex and he was right. They came home and immediately started buying politicians with favors and it has not stopped since. Bureaucrats are full of the favor variety. And downsizing, shedding, dumping them is an excellent idea. Again, go Trump and Musk and the rest of the team.
Fire anyone who thinks they are too important to leave. Those are the worst of the bunch! And remember to shut the door behind them as they leave permanently!
And use to post being shadow banned so made a copy of this one just in case it disappeared into the facilitators junk files! But I am so fed up with this little game of illegal aliens in this country I had to put history of this in writing!