Secure borders. A stronger economy. Washington must deliver both

In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, business leaders at residential construction and development companies were, in effect, summoned to the nation’s capital for an all-hands meeting with administration officials on housing affordability. The summons came on short notice, on a Sunday afternoon. The invitation carried an undertone. Attend or else.The Washington, D.C., meeting never took place. But the episode captured the breakneck pace and take-no-prisoners approach of those early, flood-the-zone months. It also dialed in a distinctly unsettling tone for the rules of engagement between the new administration and the nation’s private-sector business leaders in one of the economy’s critical engines: homebuilding.Now, following the 2026 midterm elections, those rules of engagement stand an opportunity to change.Business leaders, including corporate strategists and their representatives on Capitol Hill, have a window to act quickly, elevate their priorities, and press for policy changes that have damaged or threaten to undermine some of the nation’s most important economic capabilities.For homebuilding, residential development, and residential investment, immigration enfo...