ICE Raids in Los Angeles Put Homebuilding in Limbo

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Southern California have placed a major question mark on the state’s homebuilding industry already facing labor shortages.

Jim Tobin, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, said homebuilders are in a holding pattern as the raids across Greater Los Angeles continue, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

“I think the labor market is tight for our industry already. Whether this adds to it or not, we will see,” Tobin told the Daily News of the ongoing raids. “We’re watching all of the developments very carefully and making sure we’re looking to the future to train workers and get a comprehensive immigration policy that allows people who want to work in our industry to come into it really easily.”

Tobin suggested creating a construction industry-specific visa for workers to enter the U.S., similar to arrangements for seasonal agricultural workers. “It would be great to help them come out of the shadows and provide them some legal status in this country,” he said.

California is home to 1.8 million undocumented workers, the highest concentration in the country. About 41 percent of construction workers are foreign-born and work in homebuilding.

Prominent homebuilders Lennar, The Olson Company, Patterson Custom Homes, Toll Brothers and TRI Pointe Homes did not respond to the Daily News’ requests for comment on how the ICE raids might affect their projects.

Tim Kawahara, executive director of the University of California, Los Angeles Ziman Center for Real Estate, believes the raids “will likely have at least a marginal impact on the homebuilding industry in Southern California,” though “it will depend on the breadth and length of the raids.”

“Some of that workforce is undocumented and may face deportation,” he said.

The labor pinch for home construction could only get worse as more Pacific Palisades and Altadena residents move forward with plans to rebuild their homes post-wildfires.

Richard Green, director of the University of California Lusk Center for Real Estate, noted recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows about 250,000 construction job openings across the country.

“To the extent that you put a chill on people who might be part of those workers, it doesn’t help,” Green said. “It’s been hard for a while to find construction labor. The raids don’t help.” — Chris Malone Méndez