On construction sites across Baldwin County, Ala., workers are vanishing mid-shift. Not because they quit, but because immigration agents hauled them away—the “God-fearing, family-oriented” laborers who braved blistering summer heat on rooftops to support their families.
Now, contractors warn the raids are deepening a labor shortage that already threatens the state’s economic prosperity: Even in Alabama, where 65% of voters backed President Donald Trump with immigration as a top campaign issue.
Russell Davis, executive vice-president of the Home Builders Association of Alabama, told Fortune the industry is already feeling the shock.
“We’ve had several situations where we’ve had job sites raided, for lack of a better term… and it is a cause of concern,” he said. “It’s definitely affected the labor market in general,” he added, with ripple effects beyond undocumented workers.
“There’s a lot of folks that are here legally, that have relatives that may not be, and it’s put everybody more in a defensive position,” Davis said.
