Homebuilders say they struggle to find workers amid ICE crackdowns
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In a new survey, homebuilders around the country say ramped-up Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns are creating huge headaches for their businesses.
Why it matters: The labor strain comes on top of other challenges for the industry: rising mortgage rates, higher prices for key inputs driven by tariffs and the Iran war, as well as growing competition for resources with builders of data centers.
What they're saying: "ICE is becoming a very large issue and causing labor shortages," says a Houston builder in a survey conducted earlier this month by John Burns Research and Consulting, which regularly asks homebuilders about market conditions.
- A builder in Richmond, Virginia, says: "ICE has had significant impacts to vendors throughout Virginia/Maryland in the last 90 days. ... This has had a major impact on cycle times and the ability to start new houses."
- Jacksonville, Florida: "Current immigration enforcement efforts in our region are causing a strain on both the labor force, labor costs and cycle times."
The intrigue: The remarks in the homebuilder survey were unprompted, says Rick Palacios, director of research at the consulting firm.
- "All we asked about on the topic in our survey was construction cycle times," he says. "The comments on 'ICE and immigration' were completely unsolicited."
Zoom in: The strains come after three straight months of record ICE arrests — in August the agency said it arrested 50,925 people across the country, the highest number of "illegal aliens" arrested in a single month.
Between the lines: These arrests have been less conspicuous than high-profile raids that came early in the year, but impactful — called a "shadow surge" by one of the administration's opponents.
Zoom out: Immigration raids discourage legally authorized workers from reporting to job sites, Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, recently said.
- Higher mortgage rates and rising material costs are also weighing on the industry, he said.
- Building material costs are up by a median 6.7% from last year, according to one NAHB survey.
The other side: "ICE is not arresting people legally in the country," said White House spokesperson Lauren Bis.
- "There is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force."
- The administration has said its new Office of Immigration Policy will help employers navigate immigration policies.
The big picture: Immigrants made up more than 26% of the construction workforce in 2024, the most recent Census Bureau data on the industry.
- But in certain trades, the share is much higher — immigrants make up 57% of those working on drywall and 53% of roofers, according to an analysis of that data released earlier this year by NAHB.
