The construction industry faces a deepening workforce crisis as immigration enforcement activities intensify across job sites. New reports reveal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are compounding an already severe labor shortage, threatening project timelines and driving up construction costs nationwide.
According to a comprehensive NPR report published November 6, 2025, the construction industry—where more than one in three workers are foreign-born—is experiencing unprecedented anxiety among its workforce. The anxiety extends beyond undocumented workers to include documented immigrants and green card holders who fear they may be detained despite having legal work authorization.
Industry data paints a stark picture of immigration enforcement impacts on construction:
The Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE deported 400,000 people since Trump's second term began, with an estimated 1.6 million people self-deporting. These numbers represent a massive disruption to industries heavily dependent on immigrant labor.
Construction industry leaders describe the practical consequences of these enforcement actions. Rurick Palomino, a U.S. citizen and Peruvian immigrant who owns a construction firm working on the $128 million Theodore Roosevelt Bridge refurbishment in Washington, D.C., has witnessed firsthand how immigration enforcement affects operations.
Palomino recently had several employees stopped by ICE on their way to work. "They were holding them for hours," he explains. "We could not accomplish what we were supposed to do that day. And that put us behind schedule." Palomino has reduced his workforce from 45 to 30 workers because he fears taking on more staff without predictable labor availability.
Sergio Barajas, head of the National Hispanic Construction Alliance, notes that fear is widespread. "The anxiety among Latino workers—documented and undocumented alike—is palpable," he states. The fear has become so intense that some Latino-owned construction firms are removing business signs from their trucks and vans to avoid being identified as construction crews and potentially targeted.
The immediate impact on contractors is substantial. When workers fail to show up or leave in the middle of tasks, projects slow dramatically, according to Ken Simonson, chief economist at AGC. He explains the interconnected nature of construction: "A building project is step by step. So it's fine if you get the foundation poured and the beams up. But if you can't put on the roof, you're not going to be able to finish things off."
The result is predictable: longer project timelines translate directly into higher costs for owners and contractors. Construction of specialized trades is particularly vulnerable. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), immigrants comprise especially high percentages in critical trades:
California and New Jersey report the highest percentage of foreign-born construction workers at 41% each, but concentrations are nearly as high across the South, where construction is booming and wages are low. Texas and Florida both have 38% foreign-born construction workers, Georgia 30%, and Virginia and North Carolina at 27% each.
While immigration enforcement exacerbates the crisis, the underlying labor shortage has deep roots. According to NAHB President and CEO Jim Tobin, "Even when we were building more homes than we needed in the early 2000s, we still were facing a labor shortage."
Tobin attributes the problem to decades of emphasis on four-year college degrees that devalued skilled trades education. "Since we've done a terrible job of educating our domestic workforce, we've had to increase the pull from across our borders," he says.
The construction industry lost many U.S.-born workers during the Great Recession when the market collapsed. During the recovery, contractors increasingly turned to immigrant workers to fill the widening gap. This trend has created an industry that now relies heavily on immigrant labor for its operation.
The Home Building Institute (HBI) estimates that workforce shortages cost the home-building industry $11 billion annually. The NAHB identifies that the U.S. faces a gap of roughly 1.5 million housing units between supply and demand, a shortage that directly results from construction's inability to find sufficient workers.
Economist Nik Theodore from the University of Illinois, Chicago, warns that "contractors are going to have to pay more for the available workers" because "we're not just losing workers—we're losing workers who know how to drywall, lay flooring. There are real skill gaps."
The White House suggests that immigration enforcement will open job opportunities for U.S.-born workers. However, industry leaders express skepticism. Kenny Mallick, a plumbing and heating contractor with 30 years of experience in Maryland, states bluntly: "There's not anyone sitting on the sidelines. Unemployment is low. Where are you going to get them at? The trades aren't sexy."
The Economic Policy Institute published research in July 2025 projecting that if the Trump administration meets its goal of deporting 4 million people by the end of 2028, the construction industry would lose 1.4 million immigrant workers. The report concludes there would be a net loss of 861,000 jobs among U.S.-born workers, partly because rapid workforce reductions could force contractors to scale back operations or close entirely.
Mallick, who has worked in construction for three decades but plans to retire soon, believes the solution lies in immigration policy reform rather than enforcement expansion. "We can't do what we do in this country without these people," he states. "They're stitched into every element of our fabric."
The construction industry faces a critical inflection point. Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist, warns: "If the enforcement actions are stepped up, this is just the cusp of what we'll be seeing."
Many contractors—even those who support immigration enforcement for workers with criminal records—recognize the economic reality. Mallick summarizes the dilemma: "Contractors need to stand up and tell the government 'stop taking our people. We need them.'"
Industry leaders increasingly call for creating legal pathways for immigrant workers. Palomino advocates for a visa program: "Maybe they can create a path—even if not for citizenship—for good workers to be allowed to work without fear."
Source: NPR Report, November 6, 2025 | Associated General Contractors of America Survey, August 2025 | U.S. Department of Homeland Security Reports | National Association of Home Builders | Economic Policy Institute Report, July 2025 | Home Building Institute
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