Undocumented workers built Florida's roads -- and died in the process
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said undocumented immigrants pose threats. But prominent state highway projects relied on them.
The men got to work removing a pipe, prying at an obstructing rock with a pick. Almost instantly, the trench collapsed — bringing with it a 30,000-pound concrete wall.
It crushed their organs and split their spines in two. They were dead before the police arrived.
Their deaths were preventable, federal regulators determined. The barrier wall should’ve been supported. The men should’ve had better training.
These failures weren’t isolated. For years, Archer Western workers died on the job at a rate experts said should have raised alarm in Tallahassee. State officials knew about at least two of the deaths, records show — and alleged in court that the company’s negligence was to blame for one of them. Even still, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state transportation agency has awarded Atlanta-based Archer Western and its partners nearly $1.6 billion in contracts, one of just a handful of firms to make that much.
https://www.tampabay.com/investigations/2025/10/24/florida-construction-archer-western-howard-frankland-desantis-immigrant/