President Donald Trump’s broad-based immigration enforcement using multiple government agencies has scrutinized employers more; more worksite inspections, I-9 examinations, audits, targeted investigations, and severe penalties for non-compliance.
With tariffs in place against America’s three largest trading partners — and a crackdown in undocumented workers — how will the construction industry manage?
Legal Insights columnist Trent Cotney analyzes the effects of the new Trump-era tariffs on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese imports, warning contractors about rising material costs. He also discusses the labor shortage caused by stricter immigration policies.
According to the American Immigration Council, the construction industry has the highest percentage of undocumented workers at 13.7 percent, surpassing agriculture (12.7 percent), hospitality (7.1 percent), general services (6.5 percent), and transportation and warehousing (5.5 percent).
Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and over 20 of their Democratic colleagues reintroduced the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency Act, legislation to allow Temporary Protected Status recipients to apply for legal permanent residency and receive work authorization.
In Nov. 16’s Federal Register, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is automatically extending the validity of Temporary Protected Status-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti, Sudan and Nepal from Dec. 31, 2022, to June 30, 2024. The TPS-related documents covered by this notice are Employment Authorization Documents, Notices of Action (Forms I-797) and Arrival/Departure Records (Forms I-94).
Here, South Valley Drywall CEO revisits with the magazine to talk about the next year, the next wave of labor and what we can do as a nation to improve the immigration dialogue.