Two-thirds of contractors say ICE raids are making it harder for them to build houses

Two-thirds of contractors say ICE raids are making it harder for them to build houses Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has meant worker shortages and cost increases for residential construction sector, companies tell pollsters - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Two-thirds of construction contractors believe that ICE’s raids on immigrant communities have had an adverse impact on the U.S. housing market, making it harder to find laborers and leaving newbuilds at a standstill, according to a survey. A poll conducted by John Burns Research & Consulting cited by The Wall Street Journal reveals a significant rise in the number of builders forced to conclude that the Department of Homeland Security’s actions had caused them knock-on problems, compared to just 13 percent who said the same in September 2025 and 23 percent in March this year. The Journal suggests that while the raids ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration only created employee shortages in isolated regions like South Texas last year, the widening of the net this summer has created a much bigger problem for the sector, which has often relied on flexible migrant labor to fill roles for roofers, painters and framers. It gives the example of Jacksonville, Florida, where some contractors claim as much as 70 percent of their workforce has disappeared. “We’re almost dead in the water because our workforce is gone,” said Scott Brannock, president of Jacksonville-based Tidewater Homes and the Northeast Florida Builders Association. “We have national builders who are missing projections, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because they have slabs sitting on the ground and no one to frame.” He continued: “Talking with large shell contractors, large builders, I don’t think they fully anticipated or estimated the amount of immigrant labor that are on our job sites every day.” Brannock told the Journal that framers’ salaries have risen to $45 an hour from $20 as a result of the sudden worker shortage, explaining that framing labor now accounts for $28,000 of the cost of building a 2,500 square foot house, whereas it would previously have cost just $10,000. Another poll carried out last month by the National Association of Home Builders likewise found that the cost of labor had increased by 4.2 percent on average year-on-year. Similar concerns were raised last year regarding the U.S. agriculture industry, another huge employer of migrant labor in states like California, with economists suggesting a food supply problem could arise if they were not replaced. However, supporters of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants argue that deportations will ultimately lower housing costs for consumers by reducing the amount of competition for properties and say that contractors should only be hiring U.S. citizens in any case. “These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets, and threaten American communities,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. Matthew O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, meanwhile told the Journal: “It is an absurd contention that we should stop deporting immigration lawbreakers simply because construction companies want to employ them.” The Independent has reached out to the DHS and to ICE for further comment. Immigration enforcement is not the only contemporary phenomenon that has eaten into the supply of house builders, however. The data center boom has also led to more specialized tradesmen like electricians being enticed away from the sector in pursuit of higher wages, further adding to the manpower shortfall and exacerbating the problem. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments