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ICE raids disrupt homebuilding jobs and slow residential construction starts
ICE arrests rose to 49,571 in July from 43,021 in June, and builders say the enforcement activity is raising labor costs, trade costs, and uncertainty for homebuyers closing on scheduled timelines.
HousingWire reports that intensified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity at construction sites is disrupting homebuilding operations, leaving builders in some local markets short on labor and causing projects to slow. Builders in certain markets say the raids are lifting trade costs, slowing starts, and increasing uncertainty for buyers waiting to close on homes.
New data cited by HousingWire show ICE arrests increased to 49,571 in July after 43,021 in June. In West Virginia, for example, a builder described an ICE visit to a site in Martinsburg, where agents arrived earlier this week and, according to the company executive interviewed by HousingWire, detained about 30 construction workers while using drones and force to gain access.
HousingWire also says the builder fears the situation is worsening, noting that operations in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, roughly 60 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., began ramping up during the spring and have persisted since. Builders in the region report crews are refusing to show up for work, and they have raised concerns with state lawmakers without seeing a meaningful resolution.
According to the HousingWire source, enforcement has escalated in the past two to three weeks in the panhandle compared with earlier months, with the executive characterizing the recent activity as among the most aggressive seen. HousingWire’s series frames the labor disruption as one of several business headwinds affecting homebuilders’ staffing, construction, financing, and planning limits.