The construction industry in the US heavily relies on immigrant workers, notably undocumented individuals. Total immigrants comprise about 20% of the workforce. That amounts to about 1.6 million immigrant workers and about 1.3 million (15%) are undocumented.

The perils of Undocumented Construction Workers in the United States https://limos.engin.umich.edu/deitabase/2024/05/28/undocumented-construction-workers-us/

Largest occupations for undocumented workers in construction https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/EW-Construction-factsheet.pdf

20% of the US construction workforce is made up of immigrants. Data provided in the American Progress article above indicates about 1.3 million are undocumented. The US construction workforce increases at an avg rate of about 3%/year. If we were to lose those undocumented workers, it would take about 4-5 years to replace them, if ever. Could set back construction almost a decade. In fact, instead of 3% growth per year advancing growth, for 4-5 years it would be 3%/year jobs growth just backfilling the hole left behind before resuming growth. We would be behind forever. After 10 years, we would still be down 15%.

In construction, every trade is dependant on the trade before them to complete their part of the building progress according to schedule. If even one trade disappears from the schedule, the building progress can screech to a halt. For example, just try to put up all the drywall in a new house before the electrician and the plumber finish all their rough-in work and the inspector signs off. Lose either one of those trades and progress stops.

I live in New England. In the past 10-12 years 30 houses were built in the development right behind my property. Every single one of them had immigrants crews at some point on the project. My observation as I would walk my dog every day and watch progress is they work hard, and sing while they work.

A recent comment by this current administration (hellbent on deporting immigrants) went something like this: ‘forget deporting criminals. Just round up roofers and short order cooks so we reach our goal.’ That could really hurt construction, not only primarily in some/all of the southwest states, some with 40% immigrants working in construction, but in all states. It would kill housing, and right now LA needs all the housing workers it can get.

Unemployment and productivity includes only jobs counted in the official U.S. Census Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report.  There is a large, unaccounted for shadow workforce in construction. By some accounts, 40% or more of the construction workforce in California and Texas are immigrant workers. Immigrants may comprise between 14% and 22% of the total construction workforce. It is not clear how many within that total may or may not be included in the U.S. Census BLS jobs report. However, the totals are significant enough that they would alter some of the results commonly reported.

But this we know, (in residential construction, where most of these workers are likely working), it takes 4,000 jobs a year to put-in-place $1 billion of construction. So for every 4000 jobs lost, we lose the ability to put-in-place $1billionof new construction. If even 30% (400,000) of undocumented immigrants in construction are lost to deportation, that could amount to a loss of $100 billion in construction in one year, or a trillion$ (without accounting for inflation) over 10 years.

I’ve been writing about immigrant construction labor for about a decade. Want to get more facts? See these (dated) articles.

https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2015/03/26/share-of-unauthorized-immigrant-workers-in-production-construction-jobs-falls-since-2007/

https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2018/11/27/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-total-dips-to-lowest-level-in-a-decade/