Study Examines Hispanics' Overcrowding

WASHINGTON (AP) July 30, 2004 - Low- and middle-income immigrants are far more likely to live in overcrowded homes and spend at least half their income on housing than native-born Americans with similar incomes, an affordable housing group said Wednesday.

Hispanic immigrants especially feel the pinch, according to a study by the National Housing Conference, which analyzed Census Bureau data.

Of the 1.2 million immigrant working-class families in 2001 that paid at least half their incomes for housing or lived in dilapidated conditions, nearly 60 percent were Hispanic, a group that constitutes only 13.5 percent of the population.

About 15 percent of immigrant households lived in overcrowded homes, compared with 2 percent of native-born households, the study found. A home is considered overcrowded if it houses more than one person per room, not counting bathrooms, utility rooms, pantries and unfinished space.

Barbara Lipman of the Center for Housing Policy, an arm of the housing coalition, offered several reasons for the overcrowding:

--Hispanic women have higher birth rates than other demographic groups and their families tend to be larger.

--Recently arrived immigrants may be more apt to stay with friends or family as they integrate into American life.

--Many Hispanics have taken jobs in fast-growing areas where wages haven't kept pace with soaring housing prices. In some rural areas, housing is scarce for new immigrants who, for example, work at textile mills and poultry plants.

Lipman and other housing advocates said a shortage of housing priced within reach of low- and middle-income workers has forced many large families to cram into small apartments or pay rents beyond their means.

The government recommends spending no more than about 30 percent of income on housing.

But according to the study, about 15 percent of immigrant families paid at least half their income for housing in 2001, compared with 9 percent of native-born families.

Ana Maria Toribio and her husband pay $700 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. They've turned their living room into another bedroom for their three children because they can't afford a larger apartment.

Toribio, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic 10 years ago, would rather stay home with her children full time but is looking for work to help pay the bills. She wants to see more subsidized housing built to help working immigrants.

The Bush administration has proposed to increase funding to the HOME block grant program by $113 million to $2.2 billion. The program allows state and local housing agencies to choose the best way to create affordable housing.

For instance, some cities may use the money to buy land for housing projects, while others may put it toward renovating older homes.

The administration also has asked Congress for $200 million to help 40,000 low- and middle-income first-time home buyers pay for down payments and closing costs.

The housing conference study defined working families as those in which members work the equivalent of a full-time job and earn between the full-time minimum wage of $10,712 a year and up to 120 percent of an area's median income.

Immigrants were considered anyone not a U.S. citizen at birth, including those here illegally, as well as naturalized citizens.

A previous National Housing Conference report found that while the median household income for a janitor rose 9 percent between 1999 and 2001 to $17,900, the cost for median rent and utilities rose 25 percent during the same time, to $721.

Of immigrant families paying at least half their income for housing or living in dilapidated homes, 31 percent were from Mexico and 27 percent from other Latin American countries. Another 21 percent were from Asia and 13 percent were from Canada or Europe.

Janis Bowdler, housing policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group, said the housing crunch could be alleviated in part by refurbishing and preserving the current affordable housing stock and encouraging banks and mortgage companies to offer special lending programs for working immigrants.

The 2001 Census Bureau housing survey was the first to ask whether someone was born in the United States or outside the country. The survey covered about 55,000 housing units.

The housing conference report was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.