Why immigration enforcement is colliding with the housing shortage

People do not buy housing units. They buy homes. They buy a place to raise their children, care for aging parents, build friendships, establish roots, and become part of a neighborhood. They make financial commitments, plan moves, enroll their children in schools, and plan their futures, expecting the home they purchased will be ready when promised. Homebuilders do not manufacture abstract units either. They acquire land, invest capital, secure approvals, develop neighborhoods, and coordinate dozens of skilled trades to deliver homes to people who need them. They take considerable financial risks, often backed by personal guarantees, to make those homes possible. Right now, that entire undertaking is in danger of unraveling in communities across America. A regional homebuilding CEO called me this week with an urgent warning. Immigration enforcement actions, he said, have severely disrupted construction trade crews, and builders in some markets are approaching a point where they may no longer be able to complete homes on schedule. The CEO, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue, described markets where jobsite raids and the resulting disruption have re...