This construction project was on time and on budget. Then came ICE. [View all]

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This construction project was on time and on budget. Then came ICE.
By Tim Reid
July 28, 20256:20 AM EDTUpdated 29 mins ago

Summary

ICE raids are disrupting the construction industry and worsening labor shortages
CEOs say raids are causing project delays and cost overruns
Some construction workers are in hiding to avoid deportation
DHS says workplace raids help combat trafficking and exploitation

MOBILE, Alabama July 28 (Reuters) - Under a broiling Alabama sky a frustrated Robby Robertson, a construction site superintendent, surveys an 84,000 square foot, mostly built recreation center close to the Gulf coast port city of Mobile.

The site is eerily quiet. Last month, the $20 million project was on track for on-time completion by November 1. Now Robertson says he is looking at a three-week delay after about half of his workers - scared by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a job site in Florida 230 miles (370 kilometers) away - have stayed away.

Immigration raids on building sites - part of an expanding crackdown by Donald Trump on work sites across the country - are causing major disruptions to the construction industry, according to Reuters interviews.

"The threats and the reporting of raids have caused workers to not show up at job sites, just whole crews for fear of a raid," said Jim Tobin, the CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, which has 140,000 members.

While immigration enforcement agents have stepped up their raids on other work sites in recent weeks, detaining farmworkers, restaurant staff, meat packers, and day laborers, the construction industry is especially vulnerable to disruptions in the labor supply, according to Reuters interviews and government data.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/this-construction-project-was-time-budget-then-came-ice-2025-07-28/