A new report out of Fortune this week confirmed what many in the Hispanic construction community have known for a long time: this industry runs on immigrant labor, and right now, that labor is disappearing.
According to the article, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that employment among likely undocumented immigrants dropped 4% on average in areas where ICE conducted raids. Construction was hit the hardest, a 7.5% drop in employment for undocumented workers. The AGC estimates that 35% of all construction workers in this country are immigrants.
And here’s the part that should concern every contractor, subcontractor, and tradesperson out there: the industry needs to hire 349,000 new workers in 2026 just to meet demand. For context, the entire U.S. economy added only 181,000 total jobs in 2025.
This isn’t just a labor shortage. It’s a gap that can’t be filled overnight, and it’s already showing up in project delays and cost overruns across the country. One superintendent in Alabama watched half his crew vanish after an ICE raid 230 miles away. Fear travels fast on a jobsite.
What makes this moment so frustrating is that there’s no quick fix on the visa side either. The H-2B program was never designed for construction; it’s capped, seasonal, and doesn’t account for the years of training and certification the trades actually require.
Hispanic construction workers aren’t just statistics in a Fortune article. They’re the people building the homes, schools, and infrastructure this country depends on. And the conversation happening right now at the national level needs to include their voices.
NHCA will keep watching this closely and bringing the news that matters most to the Hispanic construction community, because what happens in Washington shows up on the jobsite.
¿Conoces a alguien en la industria que necesite estar al tanto de estos temas? Diles que se hagan miembros de NHCA hoy y no se pierdan nada.