Hurricane recovery hinges on immigrants at the center of US elections

Government figures show that one in four construction workers nationwide was born outside the US. In some of the nation’s largest housing markets, that number is even higher. Foreign workers account for 53 percent of all construction jobs in New York, and about half of the construction workforce in Texas is estimated to be undocumented.

Of the nearly 12 million workers in the construction industry, 1.5 million — or 13 percent — are unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center’s latest estimates for 2022.

Both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have offered to crack down on illegal immigration, albeit on very different scales. He has promised to deport all unauthorized migrants, and she will further restrict border crossings.

Economists say a big cut would not benefit the economy as a whole, particularly sectors such as construction and agriculture. A stressed workforce can lead to housing shortages and higher costs. And Americans displaced by natural disasters may have to wait longer before they can return to their homes.

A record 8.3 million construction workers are currently employed in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With the exception of the start of the pandemic, payrolls have increased almost every month since hitting a low following the financial crisis in 2011.

However, the trade group Associated Builders and Contractors estimated earlier this year that the industry needed an additional half a million workers to meet demand.

“Labor markets are still extremely tight in the construction industry,” said Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives for the General Contractors Association of America. “The word immigration, for whatever reason, has become somewhat nuclear in the U.S. dialogue.”

Trump has used anti-immigration rhetoric to fuel his base. Among other proposals, he promised to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” to deport unauthorized immigrants. According to Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic Policy and Research, this would lead to “a hit to construction, very fast and very big.”

“President Trump’s mass deportation of illegal immigrants will not only make our communities safer, but it will save Americans from paying bills for years to come,” said Taylor Rogers, spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

Harris, meanwhile, supports a bipartisan immigration bill drafted by senators earlier this year that would make it harder to apply for asylum and speed up deportations, though it would also add more visas for legal immigration.

Baker said her policies could still hold back the industry and make home remodeling and construction more difficult and expensive. The Harris campaign did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The election comes just as communities in the southeast begin to rebuild after storms made landfall last month. Amber Lawson, principal of Georgia-based Aspire Construction & Design, said many of her firm’s subcontractors, such as roofers and carpenters, are being shifted to help with the renovation. A shortage of labor and materials could force her to delay the start of construction on a detached housing complex outside Atlanta, she said.

“I expect to see the effects of the labor shortage in the next month or two,” Lawson said. “It’s really just making an already tough market that much tougher.”

Based on recovery efforts in Florida, Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Force, a nonprofit organization that organizes and advocates for disaster relief workers, said mayors and governors are relying on relief teams to get residents back to their homes as quickly as possible. homes But the US needs an immigration policy that would provide for a greater number of skilled workers.

“The immigration policy we really need recognizes this and institutionalizes these workers, gives them the ability to stay in this country, and promotes our continued adaptation and resilience to the disasters we know are coming,” Sohney said. “All recovery and long-term rebuilding after hurricanes depends on immigrant labor.”