A Richmond-area homebuilder says stepped-up immigration enforcement is making it take longer to build new homes, part of a broader disruption builders across Virginia and Maryland say they’ve felt over the past several months. Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield have recorded more than 2,700 deportation orders since October 2025, among the highest tallies of that kind in the state.
The builder’s account, reported by Axios, points to a workforce that leans heavily on immigrant labor. Virginia’s construction industry overall is nearly 28% foreign-born, and the construction-trades workforce specifically is almost 38% foreign-born, according to the outlet’s analysis of National Association of Home Builders data drawn from 2024 census figures. Nationally, foreign-born workers make up 26.3% of the construction workforce, per that same reporting — though the industry-forecast site glassglobal.com has put the national foreign-born construction share closer to 30%, a discrepancy the available data doesn’t resolve.
Certain trades are even more reliant on immigrant labor. Foreign-born workers account for 57% of drywall and ceiling installers, 56% of plasterers and stucco masons, 53% of roofers, 53% of painters and paperhangers, and 51% of carpet, floor and tile installers, the Axios analysis found. The available data does not break down how many of those workers are naturalized citizens, visa holders or undocumented immigrants, the outlet notes.
Effects Reported Across Two States
ICE enforcement has reached beyond individual job sites. Vendors throughout Virginia and Maryland have felt the impact of enforcement activity over the past 90 days, and immigration enforcement has affected construction cycle times and builders’ ability to start new houses, according to the same Axios reporting. Similar disruptions have surfaced elsewhere: builders in Houston and Jacksonville have reported labor shortages, rising labor costs and construction delays tied to immigration enforcement…