US Construction Relies on Immigrant Labor
Analysis based on 9 articles · First reported Dec 05, 2025 · Last updated Dec 05, 2025
The United States construction industry faces potential labor disruptions due to intensified federal immigration enforcement, which could lead to increased project costs and delays. States like United States — California and United States — Texas, and cities such as United States — Miami and United States — Los Angeles, are particularly vulnerable given their high reliance on foreign-born workers.
A report by Dalcon Construction, using data from the United States — United States Census Bureau, highlights the increasing reliance of the United States construction sector on foreign-born workers. Immigrants now constitute 26% of the national construction workforce, a figure that has steadily risen since 2009. Certain occupations, such as drywall and ceiling installers (56.9%), painters and paperhangers (50.2%), and roofers (50.0%), are majority foreign-born. Geographically, states like United States — California (41.5%), United States — Texas (40.2%), United States — New Jersey (38.7%), United States — Florida (37.9%), and United States — New York (state) (37.1%) show the highest dependence. At the metro level, United States — Miami (66.2%), United States — Los Angeles (53.7%), United States — Washington (state) (51.7%), and United States — Houston (51.4%) have over half of their construction workforce as foreign-born. The report warns that intensified federal immigration enforcement could lead to significant labor disruptions in these areas, impacting project timelines, costs, and the broader economy.
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