FILE PHOTO: Federal agents, including Immigration & Customs Enforcement, FBI and HSI police conduct raids at Cedar Run apartment complex in Denver, Colorado, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration has reverberated through a Miami suburb, with even the city's Republican mayor admitting, "I’m sure it will affect the housing market to a certain extent."
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that vacancy rates for apartments in communities near Doral are 4.3%. However, Doral itself has seen vacancy rates climb to 6.5% — from 5.6% in late 2024 — with some buildings soaring to more than 10%.
Leasing agents told the Journal that Trump's immigration crackdownsent Venezuelan immigrants fleeing, and rents plunging to three-year lows.
“They’re all telling me, ‘No, I can’t stay, my [temporary status] is expiring,” Maria Eugenia Nucete, a Venezuelan-American real-estate agent, told the Journal.
Republican Mayor Christi Fraga said the rising vacancies are due to a variety of factors, including Trump's immigration crackdown.
“I do personally know of some families that have self-deported. Their status was unsure, and they didn’t want to be here illegally,” Fraga acknowledged. “I’m sure it will affect the housing market to a certain extent.”
Gabriela Hernandez, a marketing executive at a law firm, said she plans to leave Doral next month, telling the outlet: "All of our plans here have collapsed." Her boyfriend, who expects his temporary status to be revoked, fled in the middle of the night to avoid a potential run-in with federal agents.
The exodus has led some building owners to demand to know a family's immigration status before agreeing to rent. Those in the country on a temporary status are being turned away.