In a new survey, homebuilders around the country say ramped-up Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns are creating huge headaches for their businesses.
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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.”
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More in Business Sep 22, 2026 – Business Homebuilders say they struggle to find workers amid ICE crackdowns
Emily Peck
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Data: National Association of Home Builders analysis of 2024 census data; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios 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.
Emily Peck, Axios
