UIC Report: Migrant Influx, Housing Shortage Fuel Rise in Latino Homelessness Across Illinois

A new report from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) documents a sharp increase in Latino homelessness across Illinois, citing two primary drivers: a significant influx of migrants and a persistent shortage of affordable housing. However, researchers warn the crisis extends far beyond official counts.

Yvonne Arenas, coauthor of the report and Associate Director at UIC’s Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, explained that the problem is “bigger than it looks on the surface,” with many individuals experiencing housing instability going uncounted in traditional metrics.

According to Arenas, Chicago received close to 50,000 immigrants bussed from Texas between 2022 and 2024. This arrival pattern had a dramatic impact on local homelessness figures. In 2022, an estimated 345 Latinx Chicagoans lived in shelters; by 2024, that number surged to 13,391. Unsheltered homelessness within the same population also tripled during that period.

“The rapid increase of new individuals with acute housing needs was overwhelming the existing housing resources in the city,” Arenas said. She noted that emergency shelters are designed to support transitions from crisis to stability—not to provide permanent housing—and the sudden demand stretched resources across the entire support network.

The report also identifies spillover effects: sheltered homelessness among non-Latinx residents in Chicago nearly doubled between 2022 and 2024. Arenas said this suggests the migrant bussing program contributed to broader housing instability affecting multiple racial groups.

Additional pressures compounded the crisis. Arenas pointed to the end of the federal eviction moratorium in December 2021, lingering economic impacts from the pandemic, and heightened national anti-immigrant rhetoric as factors making it harder for Latino residents to secure housing.

Despite facing elevated risk factors such as poverty, limited access to affordable housing, and employment discrimination, Latino residents historically exhibited lower rates of documented homelessness than expected over the past decade. Arenas attributed this pattern to cultural practices of “doubling up”—relying on family or friends for temporary housing rather than entering shelters or living unsheltered.

Data from the report shows Latino individuals across most of Illinois experience substantially higher rates of doubling up compared to non-Latino residents. In the South Central Illinois Continuum of Care area, for example, 3,195 Latino residents per 100,000 were living in doubled-up conditions, compared to 324 non-Latino residents per 100,000—a more than tenfold difference.

“While multigenerational and extended-family living is a strength of the Latino community, it can mask challenges when housing arrangements are driven by necessity rather than choice,” Arenas said. She described scenarios where individuals displaced by rising rents or insufficient wages stay on couches or in spare rooms, creating strain on host households through lease violations, increased utility costs, or overcrowding.

“This form of doubled-up homelessness is not only overlooked, but it can also lead to instability for the host family,” Arenas added.

The report emphasizes that addressing the crisis requires recognizing both visible and hidden dimensions of housing insecurity. With no single solution available, Arenas indicated that continued research and targeted policy responses will be essential as the situation evolves.