The Trump administration is ramping up its immigration arrests and deportations. Recent raids in Los Angeles’ fashion district and at Home Depot parking lots in Southern California suggest that Immigration and Customs Enforcement are targeting people in their workplace.
“You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation,” said Tom Homan, the White House border czar, in remarks to reporters recently. “We’re going to flood the zone.”
Industries that rely on workers who are in the country without legal status, like agriculture, restaurants and construction, are taking notice.
The Pew Research Center said, as of 2017, 12% of workers in the construction industry were immigrants in the country with authorization. In 2021, the Center for American Progress estimated that among construction laborers, 23% don’t have legal status.
Morning Edition spoke Tuesday with George Carrillo, co-founder and CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council, as protests against ICE raids unfolded in Los Angeles and after President Trump ordered Marines and additional National Guard troops to the city.
“The people that you see building our homes, the ones that are paving the roads and our bridges, 50% of that skilled workforce is Hispanics,” he said…
Taylor Haney, NPR, June 11, 2025
Read the Full Article