How ICE raids are disrupting D.C.'s economy

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report — "How ICE Raids Are Disrupting D.C.'s Economy"

Host: Sabri Benashore (in for David Brancaccio)
Date: November 21, 2025
Duration: ~10 minutes

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Episode Overview

This episode highlights the ripple effects of increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Washington, D.C., focusing on their disruptive impact on the local construction industry, businesses, and real estate market. It also briefly covers recent market volatility, the escalating rural housing affordability crisis, and touches on global economic news.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Markets Update and AI Bubble Jitters

• [01:31–02:28]

  • Markets initially saw gains due to strong AI-related performance (notably Nvidia).
  • The optimism quickly faded; the S&P 500 dropped 1.5% and Nasdaq 2% following concerns over the AI bubble and interpretations of strong jobs data possibly delaying Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
  • Discussion included context from the BBC on how UK and Asian markets responded similarly.

  Quote [01:55]:
  "Strong sales at chip giant Nvidia initially boosted markets, but sentiment has turned negative again." — William Lee Adams, BBC

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2. Escalating Housing Affordability Problems, Especially in Rural Areas

• [02:28–04:26]

  • A wave of homebuyers moving to rural areas for cheaper properties is driving up prices and reducing affordability even there.
  • Rural home buyers now need to earn about $75,000 to afford a typical home — double the pre-pandemic requirement, though rural incomes have only gone up by 33%.
  • Real estate agents in Wisconsin and Colorado describe shrinking inventories and price surges, with long-time locals increasingly priced out.

  Quote [03:40]:
  "Rural buyers, they have to earn about $75,000 in order to afford the typical home, and that is double what they needed to earn before the pandemic." — Chen Zhao, Redfin

  Quote [04:13]:
  "When you get priced out of maybe the bigger resorts, you tend to look a little further afield. And then what happens to the people that are living there? To the ranches, it becomes harder and harder for people to afford their local areas." — Dana Cattrall, Colorado Realtor

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3. The Human Toll of ICE Raids on D.C. Construction and Real Estate

• [06:12–09:15]

  • Months of ICE raids have instilled deep fear among construction workers (many of whom are immigrants), leading to severe labor shortages.
  • Contractors and subcontractors are hesitant, or outright refuse, to enter D.C. for work. This causes cascading project delays across construction and real estate.
  • Gilbert Garcia, owner of Monumental Contractors, now draws only from workers willing to enter D.C. — about two-thirds of his workforce — and juggles crews accordingly.
  • Not just workers; entire companies have shuttered operations in D.C. due to fear, such as Complete Roofing Solutions.
  • Even realtors like Casey Abulafia are directly impacted, with tasks like painting and cleaning falling to the agents themselves when crews won’t show — slowing property sales and renovations.
  • Attempts to interview immigrant workers were unsuccessful due to fear, underscoring the pervasiveness of anxiety.

  Quote [06:53]:
  "Certain people are afraid to go into D.C. or other places because they think they can get detained or questioned." — Gilbert Garcia, Monumental Contractors

  Quote [07:20]:
  "He just called us and just said, 'Oh, I didn’t realize it was in D.C. or it was in that section of D.C. I can’t go.'" — Gilbert Garcia on a plumber's refusal

  Quote [08:45]:
  "28% of contractors as of late August say they've been either directly or indirectly impacted by enhanced ICE enforcement." — Brian Turmail, Associated General Contractors of America

  Quote [08:53]:
  "For some, the impact has been devastating. Complete Roofing Solutions in D.C. closed. In an automated email, the company said its crews were terrified of working in the city and quote, 'We have nothing to do but close the company.'" — Nancy Marshall Genzer

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On home price surge in rural Wisconsin [03:32]:
  "Three bedroom, one bath little ranch. $350,000. Prior to 2021, that house probably would have been $170,000." — Kristen Furstenberg, Realtor

• On contractors refusing jobs [07:20]:
  "He just called us and just said, 'Oh, I didn't realize it was in DC or it was in that section of dc. I can't go.'" — Relayed by Gilbert Garcia

• On businesses closing [08:53]:
  "'We have nothing to do but close the company.'" — Complete Roofing Solutions, via Nancy Marshall Genzer

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:31–02:28] — Market overview, AI and job data anxiety
• [02:28–04:26] — Rural housing affordability crisis intensifies
• [06:12–09:15] — ICE raids disrupting D.C.’s construction, business, and real estate scenes

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Tone and Language

• The episode’s tone is brisk but empathetic, combining data with personal stories to highlight the economic and human consequences of immigration enforcement.
• Workers and business owners express anxiety and resignation; experts sound alarms about wider economic ripple effects.

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Conclusion

This episode paints a vivid picture of how government policy shifts, like increased ICE enforcement, can generate broad economic and social ramifications — slowing business, upending industries, and fueling systemic uncertainty well beyond the immediate scope of law enforcement.

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For further context, listen to the full episode on the Marketplace podcast.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishore]

When looking for cheaper homes makes them more expensive. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Ben, ashore in for David Brancaccio Homes in just a sec. First, let's talk about yesterday. It started off so well in markets. Shares were up from New York to Asia on AI optimism. And then things changed here. Here's the BBC's William Lee Adams Global.

[William Lee Adams]

Stocks took a hit yesterday, reversing gains from the previous day. Strong sales at chip giant Nvidia initially boosted markets, but sentiment has turned negative again. In the US, the S&P 500 ended Thursday 1.5% lower and the Nasdaq lost more than 2%. And in Asia, markets responded on Friday, with most markets also sharply down. It comes in the week that Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai told the BBC that every company would be affected if the AI bubble were to burst in the uk. I'm William Lee Adams for Marketplace, and.

[Sabri Benishore]

It'S not like there was any one clear single development. That for sure was the reason markets got spooked. Could be AI bubble jitters returned. Could be traders interpreted the strong September jobs report as a sign the Fed might not cut interest rates more this year, which traders do not like. A lot of people chasing the dream of homeownership have set their sights on rural areas. Homes are cheaper there. You can get more space for less. But while homes everywhere are becoming less affordable, the problem is actually getting worse faster in rural areas. That's according to new analysis by Redfin Marketplaces.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Elizabeth Trovall has that when Kristen Furstenberg bought her cabin in northern rural Wisconsin five years ago, it was supposed to be a part time thing. But she loved the change of scenery.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

You know, I wake up every day, I look out at a lake and you can't beat that.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Like a lot of people who bought in the area around the time of the pandemic, she stuck around. She's a Realtor there in Oneida county and says even now inventory is low and prices are high. Take the home she sold earlier this.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

Year, three bedroom, one bath little ranch. $350,000. Prior to 2021, that house probably would have been $170,000.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Housing everywhere is less affordable, but in rural areas like where Furstenberg lives near, the affordability crisis is accelerating fastest, says Chen Zhao with Redfin Rural buyers, they have to earn about $75,000 in order to afford the typical home, and that.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

Is double what they needed to earn before the pandemic.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Income has only gone up 33% in rural areas. Colorado Realtor Dana Cattrall is seeing this play out in communities outside big ski destinations in the Rockies.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

When you get priced out of maybe the bigger resorts, you tend to look a little further afield. And then what happens to the people that are living there? To the ranches, it becomes harder and harder for people to afford their local areas.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

On the flip side, she says, for those who were able to get into homes five years ago, that investment is paying off. I'm Elizabeth Trofal for Marketplace.

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[Sabri Benishore]

After months of ICE raids in Washington, D.C. some construction workers are afraid to go into the nation's capital at all the contractors who need them are struggling to adapt. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has that story.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

Gilbert Garcia started Monumental Contractors with a partner in 2016. Almost 10 years later, he's got nearly 20 full time employees and space in a gleaming office tower in McLean, Virginia. Nice view, Garcia tells me. They do mainly residential work remodeling, bathrooms, kitchens, sometimes the whole house. He's usually got about six projects running at a time in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. but now certain people are.

[Odoo Sponsor]

Afraid to go into D.C. or other places because they think they can get detained or questioned.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

That's about a third of his workers, garcia says. So he juggles his crews. He sends people spooked by the ICE blitz to projects in Maryland or Virginia. Garcia also works with plumbers, electricians and other other subcontractors, and some of them won't set foot in D.C. either. He got a call from a plumber who was supposed to install a toilet and vanity on a Friday.

[Odoo Sponsor]

He just called us and just said, oh, I didn't realize it was in DC or it was in that section of dc. I can't go.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

Garcia had to tell his client they couldn't use their bathroom through the weekend. Garcia says he understands the trepidation about DC. He immigrated to the US from Columbia in 1999 as a child. He's a US citizen. The ICE crackdown is also causing delays for DC area realtors. Casey Abulafia is a managing agent at your Partners at Compass. I met her at a recently renovated three bedroom house for sale in northwest Washington. And then we've got the two bedrooms up here abolafia says the house needed work landscaping, a bathroom update, new lighting, painting and cleaning. Now some of her projects are taking longer. One of her contractors ended up painting this house himself when his workers wouldn't come into the city. You know, they're like family to him and doesn't want them to have to deal with that fear and the things that wrap around it. The fear is widespread. Four immigrant workers had agreed to be interviewed for this story, then backed out. I reached out to five contractors just to get one. Gilbert Garcia ON the Record ICE has put a chill on construction sites across the country, says Brian Turmale with the Associated General contractors of America.

[Sabri Benishore]

28% of contractors as of late August say they've been either directly or indirectly impacted by enhanced ICE enforcement.

[Various Interviewees (Realtors, Contractors, etc.)]

For some, the impact has been devastating. Complete roofing solutions in D.C. closed. In an automated email, the company said its crews were terrified of working in the city and quote, we have nothing to do but close the company. Marketplace reached out to ICE for comment, but didn't hear back by deadline. I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

Our executive producer is Nancy Fargali. Our digital team includes Antoinette Brock, Emily McCune, and Dylan Nietinen. Our engineers are Rachel Breese and Tessa Block in New York. I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Morning.

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