Immigration crackdown sparks worker no-shows in Raleigh
As many as 200 construction workers failed to report to multiple large commercial job sites in Raleigh this week, industry sources tell Carolina Journal. The absences followed widely publicized activity by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which, according to insiders, prompted fear among workers, particularly those without legal status. As of Thursday morning CBP and ICE have reportedly arrested more than 250 people in the crackdown across Charlotte and Raleigh.
“We are monitoring the situation,” Dave Simpson, president and CEO of Carolinas Associated General Contractors, told Carolina Journal. “Companies are reporting absences, which is concerning because there is a lot of work to be done.”
Among the sites with absenteeism are high rise construction at North Hills in the city’s midtown area and construction on Raleigh’s new City Hall.
Over the weekend, federal immigration enforcement officials fanned out over Charlotte, making arrests in the “Operation Charlotte’s Web” crackdown. On Tuesday, enforcement efforts moved to Raleigh.
Critics warn that the absenteeism highlights broader issues:heavy reliance on immigrant labor in North Carolina construction, and allegations that undocumented workers could be driving down wage expectations across the sector.
Under North Carolina state law, starting in 2013 all businesses with more than 25 employees are required to use the E-Verify system run by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service to ensure that applicants and employees are here legally and authorized to work. The state’s Department of Labor, led by Commissioner Luke Farley, investigates all E-Verify complaints.
“The North Carolina Department of Labor enforces our state’s E-Verify law,” John Wesley Waugh, director of Communications for NCDOL, said in a statement to Carolina Journal on Tuesday afternoon.
“Failure to follow the E-Verify law hurts both North Carolina workers and responsible businesses who are following the law,” he added. “Commissioner Farley is committed to enforcing these laws to protect workers, ensure fair competition, and maintain lawful workplaces.”
Absenteeism and Wage Pressure Allegations
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources with longstanding ties to the North Carolina construction industry told Carolina Journal that many subcontractors in the area rely heavily on undocumented labor, often paying lower wages than for legally authorized employees.
The site at North Hills is run by global construction giant Balfour Beatty, with labor in areas like concrete provided by subcontractor Donley’s. Neither company returned requests for comment by press time.
“They deliberately hire workers without legal status because it keeps costs down,” one anonymous source alleged. “It’s cheaper for them, but it drives wages down across the board. I have friends with legal status hoping their SNAP benefits come in this week because they can’t get into these jobs.”
NC construction labor force
According to the Pew Research Center, North Carolina is among eight states that saw greater than a 75,000-person increase in unauthorized immigration from 2021 to 2023. A NC Department of Commerce report shows that, as of 2023, 29% of the state’s construction workforce is foreign-born, without identifying immigration status.
A report out earlier this year from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 19.2% of the US civilian labor force is made up of foreign-born workers, but that report also did not distinguish between those here legally or illegally. Foreign born workers were also more likely (13.9% versus 7.7%) to be employed in industries like construction and maintenance.
wcpss responds to Enforcement Activity
Sources say the no-shows may be a direct reaction to ICE and CBP presence in the area, reflecting fear among undocumented and immigrant laborers. Public schools have also seem absenteeism, with Charlotte reporting 15% of its students out on Monday.
Wake County Public Schools sent a message out to families Tuesday saying: “Our primary mission is, and always will be, to provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment for every single child, regardless of immigration status.”
The message drew criticism on the X social media platform, with one user posting:
“Why is Wake County School System getting involved in this? They aren’t even educating the kids above average. @WCPSS you have one job. This isn’t it.”
“Immigration crackdown sparks worker no-shows in Raleigh” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.
