President Donald J. Trump
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
President Trump, Sen. Thune, Sen. Schumer, Rep. Johnson, and Rep. Jeffries:
Targeting long-term, law-abiding, hard-working immigrant construction workers is driving up housing costs for Americans, harming our infrastructure and threatening the construction economy. The loss of Temporary Protected Status for over 350,000 Haitians and the current limbo facing over 200,000 Salvadoran TPS have been devastating.
With affordability and the cost of living topping families’ concerns nationwide, Washington must set aside ideological differences and stop making it harder and more expensive to build homes.
President Trump is a builder. He understands our industry because he is a part of it. With the border secure, he has an opportunity to lead Congress in taking care of the other half of the immigration challenge facing our nation — work permits for long-term, law-abiding immigrants.
The need is undeniable and the consequences of failure are devastating. Nearly two-thirds of builders now report that immigration enforcement is affecting their workforce, according to a September survey cited by The Wall Street Journal. Construction delays are driving up labor costs, slowing homebuilding and ultimately raising prices for American families, a trend underscored by a September survey from the National Association of Home Builders that found labor costs had risen a median of 4.2% over the previous year. Construction jobs that used to take four weeks now take two months — or don’t get started at all.
Workers are scared to show up, terrified they will be pulled off jobs, stopped while driving to work, or, in the case of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot dead by ICE agents.
We must, of course, urgently invest in domestic career and technical education programs focused on construction so that we have a clear pipeline of American talent into the construction trades.
But let’s be clear and let’s be honest: rebuilding the domestic pipeline will take years. We must provide work permits to long-term immigrants who have already contributed to our industry and communities for years. These immigrant workers themselves are part of the solution here as well. The skills and commitment to the sector that they bring will benefit the next generation of our industry.
We build America’s homes, infrastructure and communities. We know what it takes to get projects completed, and we know the current approach is making that work harder and more expensive. We are ready to work with policymakers from both parties on practical solutions that protect our workforce, strengthen our industry and make housing more affordable.
- Wendell Stemley, President, National Association of Minority Contractors
- Sergio Barajas, Executive Director, National Hispanic Construction Alliance
- Raul Raymundo, CEO, The Resurrection Project, IL; Board Member, American Business Immigration Coalition
- Ronnie Cavazos, CEO, The Structure Team; President, South Texas Builders’ Association
- Mario Guerrero, Executive Director, South Texas Builders’ Association; CEO, Rich Heritage Construction, Inc.
- Benny Melendez, Owner, BM3 Construction; Government Committee Chair, South Texas Builders’ Association
- Scott Stevens, President and CEO of Modu Tech. Former president of the National Framers Council, MD
- Lauren Truslow, CEO, 3D Enviro, VA
- John Graham, Chairman and CEO, Sunbelt Holdings; Board of Directors, American Business Immigration Coalition
- Fortunat Mueller, CEO and Co-Founder, ReVision Energy, ME
- Tina Cordova, President, Question Roofing & Construction, Inc., NM
- Jose Aguirre, Owner, J-Jireh Contractors, CO
- Chuck Gremillion, Retired CEO, The Graphics Complex, TX
- Ricardo Carlo, President, Associated Minority Contractors of Arizona
- Juan Borjon, Director of Engineering, AEC Industry, TX
- Clark Princell, President & CEO, Valley Partnership, AZ
- Jessica Santizo-Fernandez, Owner, Pro-Master Roofing LLC, FL
- Wallace Lawson, Owner, JW Construction Development Partners LLC
- Gilbert De La Garza, Owner, GILBERT DLG LLC DBA DLG INSURANCE AGENCY, TX
- Ray Gutierrez, President, Houston Construction Services, TX
- John Herring, CEO, A1 Global Holdings, FL
- Ruben Mercado, Jr., President, Ipsum General Contractor, LLC, TX
- Ruben Ramos, President, R & R Mechanical Services, LLC, MI
- Adam Goodman, CEO, Goodmans, AZ
- Edgar Garcia, President & CEO, AE Construction Service, TX
- Gama Paz, CEO, Dynamic Builders, TX
- Jorge Forgues, General Partner, Forgues Consulting, LLC, VA
- Daymon Allmon, CEO, East Coast Metal Structures, FL
- Emmanuel Guerrero, City Councilman, City of Pasadena, TX
- Olga Lopez, CEO, CIMA Logistics LLC, TX
- Eric Robertson, President, Smith & Robertson, Inc, VA