• • In fiscal year 2021, there were 1.66 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border,
    surpassing previous records.
  • This number increased to 2.2 million in 2022, with a slight decrease to 2 million in 2023.
  • The first quarter of 2024 has already seen over 1.17 million encounters, indicating an
    upward trend and an international perception that the border is navigable and that
    current policy makes for relatively easy illegal entry.

By: Meaghan Mobbs

• • Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as English basements, in-law suites, or converted garages can make excellent dwelling spaces for individual renters or family members.
  • ADUs can generate needed primary or supplemental income for property owners while increasing their home values. Renters gain access to affordable units that are often less expensive than traditional one-bedroom apartments.
  • ADUs allow older women to age in their homes, build financial security in their later years, or be cared for by loved ones.

By: Patrice Onwuka

• • Human beings are, by their very nature, complex. Any policy solution must be human-centered, versus housing-centered, and its foundation must be built on a human being’s inherent needs. This means we should return to a policy of putting humans first, not Housing First.
  • Homeless policy must focus on the needs of those struggling with homelessness in parallel with the needs of the communities surrounding them. Many Americans have been ludicrously forced to abandon our sidewalks, parks, and our expectations of public order and safety. 
    
  • Homeless policy must insist on guardrails of responsibility at every level of the system, from governments at the federal, state, and local levels, to the individuals struggling with homelessness and the non-profits serving them. 

By: Michele Steeb

• • An overwhelming majority of Americans (88%) want to grow old in their own home. And enabling elderly Americans to age in place can be a cost-effective measure that improves health outcomes.
  • Many senior citizens, however, cannot live alone without support, such as help with light housework, meal preparation, and driving.
  • Unless these seniors have a family that can help, they must choose between hiring the support they need, moving to a senior residential facility against their wishes, or living at home without support in a potentially unsafe situation.

By: Kristin Shapiro

• • President Joe Biden has signaled his support of trans activists by describing state bans on medical alterations to minors’ secondary sex characteristics as being “close to sinful.”
  • Former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, has signaled his support of bans on “child mutilation.”
  • As one would expect, the states where medical alterations to minors’ reproductive anatomy have been outlawed and the states where they are encouraged generally correspond with Republican and Democratic majorities, respectively.

By: Madeleine Kearns

• • Rent regulation—both rent control and rent stabilization measures—shrinks the overall supply of housing. A 2019 study of rent control in San Francisco found that it led to a 15% reduction in rental housing and a 25% reduction in the number of renters living in rent-controlled units.
  • Rent regulation hampers the construction of new rental units, even if new construction is explicitly exempted by the regulations.
  • Faced with the financial strain from reduced revenue, owners may be unable to maintain and repair existing rental units. For example, rent-controlled buildings in Cambridge, Massachusetts were deteriorated and “in worse condition” than non-controlled buildings.

By: Patrice Onwuka

• • The vast majority of workers (98%) want to work remotely “at least some of the time.”
  • Remote work helps parents accommodate school and daycare closures as well as be more involved with daily tasks for children and the household.
  • Remote work also offers flexibility to religious groups whose traditions and observances require special preparation and practices.
  • Remote work allows people with chronic illness or a disability to be home and have medical treatment, medications, a calm work environment, reduced germ exposure, and more.

By: Havilah Wingfield