How ICE crackdowns are affecting the workforce

Summary

Summary of "How ICE Crackdowns Are Affecting the Workforce"
The Indicator from Planet Money
Release Date: July 3, 2025

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Introduction

In the July 3, 2025 episode of The Indicator from Planet Money, hosts Adrian Ma and Darren Woods delve into the profound impacts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns on the American workforce. Titled "How ICE Crackdowns Are Affecting the Workforce," the episode explores how recent policy changes are influencing industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor, specifically agriculture, construction, and long-term care.

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Economic Context and ICE Enforcement

Adrian Ma opens the discussion by highlighting the latest labor market statistics: "The U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate decreased to 4.1%" (00:37). This positive economic data emerges amidst significant legislative activity, as House representatives vote on a major bill aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement funding.

Darren Woods emphasizes the scale of the crackdown: "Around 1,200 people were being arrested each day in June, more than triple the number under Biden" (01:20). This surge in enforcement represents one of the most significant shifts in the American labor market in recent years.

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Impact on the Agriculture Industry

The episode begins by profiling Gloria, a cherry picker from Washington State who migrated to the U.S. from Mexico in the late '90s. Gloria shares her personal struggles, stating, "We start at six in the morning. We leave at midnight. The truth is it's very tiring..." (02:31). Her unauthorized status forces her to use only her first name for privacy.

Gloria reveals the direct consequences of increased ICE presence: "I've missed work because... we see that immigration is there at the work sites" (03:03). This fear has led to significant labor shortages, with Gloria noting, "Many places are being left without workers and the fruit is going to waste out of fear, not because people don't want to work" (03:41).

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Effect on the Construction Sector

Transitioning to construction, the hosts interview Brian Termail, spokesperson for the Associated General Contractors of America. Brian observes, "The overwhelming response that we're getting is, there’s a lot of anxiety" (04:35). Despite these fears, construction workers largely continue to show up, though sporadic "no shows" occur following ICE enforcement actions (04:54).

Brian highlights the industry's dependency on immigrant labor: "About one in four construction workers were born overseas" (05:48). He explains the current labor shortage: "80% of construction firms say they can't find enough qualified people to hire in the United States" (05:56). While raising wages might seem a solution, Brian counters, "Too few jobs, new workers or workers know that these career opportunities exist. And too many families still have a negative stigma about a career opportunity in construction" (06:17).

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Challenges in the Long-Term Care Sector

Shifting focus to long-term care, the episode features Arnufo Dela Cruz, president of Union SEIU 2015 in California. Arnufo describes the diversity of the workforce: "At our board meetings, we are holding our simultaneous translation in Korean, in Russian, in Armenian, in Spanish, in Mandarin, in Cantonese" (07:05). This multicultural environment underscores the sector's reliance on immigrant workers.

Arnufo recounts instances where immigration enforcement has directly impacted care facilities: "We've had reports that... there’s been enforcement actions at nursing homes and skilled care facilities" (07:20). While most workers continue to attend their jobs, the looming threat of losing temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals from countries like Venezuela and Haiti presents a significant uncertainty. Arnufo shares a poignant story from a worker in El Salvador: "She has a couple of consumers who she's cared for for several years. You build a relationship almost like a family" (08:09).

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Policy Implications and Official Responses

The discussion turns to the broader policy landscape, with the proposed legislative bill potentially "more than triple ICE's detention budget" and hire "thousands more immigration agents" (07:36). This intensification of enforcement is critiqued for its negative repercussions on the economy.

In response to inquiries about the correlation between illegal immigration and economic health, the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, "If there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy" (08:34). However, economic data contradicts this claim, indicating that "the economy grew more under Joe Biden than the first Donald Trump administration, even when he controlled for price and population growth" (08:54).

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Voices from the Ground

Gloria offers a heartfelt message: "Not all people are the same and not all people come here to do bad things. We seem simply come to work" (09:11). This sentiment echoes across industries, highlighting the essential role immigrants play in maintaining various sectors of the economy.

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Conclusion and Future Outlook

The hosts conclude by acknowledging the urgent need for employers to find replacements as the immigration crackdown continues. Adrian Ma invites listeners to share their experiences with artificial intelligence in the workplace, signaling an ongoing conversation about labor dynamics and technological integration.

In anticipation of upcoming content, Darren Woods teases a special episode featuring an extended interview with John Cohen, a correspondent with Science magazine, discussing cuts to the PEPFAR program aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS.

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Key Takeaways

• Economic Impact: Increased ICE enforcement is creating significant labor shortages in sectors reliant on immigrant workers, threatening productivity and economic stability.

• Human Stories: Personal accounts from workers like Gloria and representatives like Brian Termail and Arnufo Dela Cruz highlight the human cost of stringent immigration policies.

• Policy Critique: The episode questions the efficacy of aggressive immigration enforcement, presenting evidence that contradicts official statements linking illegal immigration to economic performance.

• Future Challenges: With potential policy changes on the horizon, industries face the dual challenge of maintaining labor forces and ensuring economic growth amidst tightening immigration controls.

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Notable Quotes

• Gloria: "Many places are being left without workers and the fruit is going to waste out of fear, not because people don't want to work." (03:41)

• Brian Termail: "80% of construction firms say they can't find enough qualified people to hire in the United States." (05:56)

• Arnufo Dela Cruz: "We've had reports that... there’s been enforcement actions at nursing homes and skilled care facilities." (07:20)

• Tricia McLaughlin: "If there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy." (08:34)

• Gloria: "Not all people are the same and not all people come here to do bad things. We seem simply come to work." (09:11)

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This episode of The Indicator offers a comprehensive examination of the intersection between immigration policy and labor markets, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of the current economic landscape and the critical role of immigrant workers in sustaining key industries.

Transcript

[Gloria]

Npr.

[Adrian Ma]

This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrian Ma.

[Darren Woods]

And I'm Darren Woods. And it is Jobs Thursday.

[Adrian Ma]

That is right. Jobs Thursday for the, I think the first time. Right.

[Darren Woods]

The first Jobs Thursday I've been involved with for sure.

[Adrian Ma]

Yeah. In maybe several years. Because our typical Jobs for Friday episode falls on the July 4th holiday. So we're bringing you our look at the labor market. Just a day early today, we learned.

[Darren Woods]

That the U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate decreased a little to 4.1%. It's a solid report and it comes right as House representatives are voting on the big bill that will give a huge funding boost to immigration enforcement.

[Adrian Ma]

The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants might be the most profound change in the American labor market right now.

[Darren Woods]

So for today's show, we are profiling three industries, areas that employ large shares of people from abroad. Agriculture, construction, and long term care. Our question, are immigrants showing up for work?

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[Adrian Ma]

Terms apply [e-mail] when you bite into your summer cherries.

[Darren Woods]

They might have been picked by Gloria. She's a cherry picker in Washington State.

[Gloria]

We start at six in the morning. We leave at midnight. One in the morning. The truth is it's very tiring and we leave with heavy feet. But we keep going for a good future and to keep being here paying our bills and our taxes and everything else we need to pay.

[Adrian Ma]

Gloria says she moved to the US from Mexico in the late 90s. She's since had kids. The youngest is 16 years old. But like one in three crop pickers, she doesn't have legal status or work authorization. That's why she asked us to use only her first name.

[Gloria]

My whole life is here and all my children are here with me.

[Adrian Ma]

Lately Gloria's been skipping a few shifts.

[Gloria]

I've missed work because, yeah, we've even gone to work, but we've passed by. We don't go in because we see that immigration is there at the work sites.

[Darren Woods]

In late May, the Trump administration ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up arrests. Around 1,200 people were being arrested each day in June, more than triple the number under Biden. Gloria says she sees ICE vehicles regularly and it's affecting her colleagues. Too.

[Gloria]

Many places are being left without workers and the fruit is going to waste out of fear, not because people don't want to work. It's out of fear and dread.

[Adrian Ma]

See, immigration status is a spectrum. Naturalized citizens through to unauthorized workers. But there are all kinds of people in the middle, like those with temporary protected status because their countries are too dangerous to return to. So we're being broad about who we're talking about here. Not just the one in three crop workers who are unauthorized, but the two in three who were born abroad.

[Darren Woods]

From California to Texas, we've heard reports of sparse orchards and vegetables rotting in the fields as foreign born workers dodge federal agents. We wanted to know about other industries too. Large shares of immigrants also work in construction. To what extent are they also avoiding their workplaces?

[Adrian Ma]

Brian Termail is a spokesperson for the Associated General Contractors of America. It's an industry group that represents commercial builders.

[Brian Termail]

The overwhelming response that we're getting is, is that there's a lot of anxiety.

[Adrian Ma]

Among the workforce as of yet though those workers by and large keep coming to their construction sites.

[Brian Termail]

We have heard sporadic accounts of higher rates of no show that typically correlate to some kind of enhanced ICE enforcement activity. A good example, I got a call from one of the chapters in Texas, said that we had an enforcement activity at a members project and turned out that the ICE individuals there were looking for a specific person, someone that allegedly was engaged in additional criminal activity. But the fact that I showed up to a job site meant the next day a large portion of the workforce didn't show on that job site and didn't show on three adjacent job sites. But I will say that's almost the exception, not the rule. Most of the enforcement activity that relates to construction seems to be focused on day labor sites. Home depot parking lots, seven, 11 parking lots.

[Darren Woods]

Brian says the construction industry is reliant on immigrant labour. About one in four construction workers were born overseas.

[Brian Termail]

We're in an environment where 80% of construction firms say they can't find enough qualified people to hire in the United States. We're in a period where we're actually shrinking the size of our workforce by choosing not to renew temporary protected status for individuals from Venezuela, for example. So the labor pool is actually shrinking, even though we need lots of people to build things.

[Darren Woods]

Somebody may ask, well, why doesn't the construction sector just raise the wages?

[Brian Termail]

It's not that these aren't good paying jobs. It's not they don't pay more than the average job. It's that too few jobs, new workers or workers know that these career opportunities exist. And too many families still have kind of a negative stigma about a career opportunity in construction.

[Adrian Ma]

So for now, immigrants are building our office towers and our bridges and a lot of them are feeling anxiety and occasionally not showing up out of fear. What about another big industry for immigrants? Long term care for elderly or disabled people. One in three long term care workers are immigrants. Arnufo Dela Cruz represents long term care workers in California. He's president of the Union SEIU 2015, which is a diverse group.

[Arnufo Dela Cruz]

At our board meetings, we are holding our simultaneous translation in Korean, in Russian, in Armenian, in Spanish, in Mandarin, in Cantonese.

[Adrian Ma]

Wow, almost like the U.N. that's exactly.

[Arnufo Dela Cruz]

How some people have compared it.

[Darren Woods]

Inoufu has heard about immigration agents from his members.

[Arnufo Dela Cruz]

We've had reports that, you know, there's been enforcement actions at nursing homes and skilled care facilities and we don't think that's helpful for the quality of care, neither for the patients and clearly for the people who are doing the work.

[Adrian Ma]

Now, the workers he represents are still, on the whole showing up for work. But there is one measure that'll soon have a big impact on the long term care workforce. It's that the Trump administration has ended temporary protected status for people from Venezuela and it's trying to end status for Haitians and people from other countries. So a lot of workers will be required to leave the country soon unless they find another legal pathway.

[Darren Woods]

Anufo recalls a worker from El Salvador who has temporary protected status and she's extremely worried what could happen if that status were to be revoked too.

[Arnufo Dela Cruz]

It's funny because one of the first things she mentioned is who's going to care for the people that I'm caring for?

[Adrian Ma]

Right.

[Arnufo Dela Cruz]

She has a couple of consumers who she's cared for for several years. You build a relationship almost like a family.

[Darren Woods]

The policy mega bill going through Congress could more than triple Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention budget. It's also likely to mean funding for thousands more immigration agents to accelerate deportations.

[Adrian Ma]

We reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to ask whether its leadership was concerned by worker absences, and we got a response from assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin. She replied, quote, let's be clear. If there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy, unquote.

[Darren Woods]

We actually checked the numbers, by the way, and the economy grew more under Joe Biden than the first Donald Trump administration, even when he controlled for price and population growth. Back in Washington state, Gloria has a message for the president in Washington, D.C.

[Gloria]

Not all people are the same and not all people come here to do bad things. We seem simply come to work.

[Darren Woods]

Of course, Americans can pick cherries and lay bricks and bathe the elderly, but the speed of the immigration crackdown is meaning employers are scrambling to find replacements.

[Adrian Ma]

Before we go, are you using artificial intelligence at work? Maybe you're a teacher who uses ChatGPT to help you lesson plan or or a hiring manager that uses Claude to weed out applicants. Whatever it is, we want to hear from you. We want to hear your wonder hacks and your horror stories of using AI in the workplace. Email [e-mail] with the subject line AI at work.

[Darren Woods]

Tomorrow we have a special episode for 4th of July, a Planet Money plus episode that we're sharing to all Indicator listeners. This one's our extended interview with John Cohen, a correspondent with Science magazine. It's on the cuts to the petfar program, which is to fight HIV aids. This episode was produced by Corey Bridges with engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was fact checked by Sarah Juarez. Julia Ritchie edited this episode. Kate Concannon edits the show, and the Indicator is a production of NPR.