By Arian Campo-Flores and Chao Deng

Escalating immigration raids and deportations are prompting some migrants to stay home from work, unsettling employers in industries that have long relied on foreign-born labor.

After Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained workers at a seafood depot in Newark, N.J., in late January, four documented immigrants employed at nearby Top Burger restaurant didn't show up for their shifts, said owner Klaytson Braga. He and his wife ended up having to work the kitchen and cash register on their own.

"Oh, my God, it's terrible now," Braga said. "Legal or illegal, everyone's scared."

Many employers that rely heavily on immigrant labor said their workers are continuing to come in. But others said a climate of fear has led to labor disruptions. Their industries include construction, food services and healthcare -- sectors that often struggle to find workers and whose operations could be hampered by persistent absenteeism.

President Trump made combating illegal immigration a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign, arguing that a flood of migrants in recent years was taking jobs from U.S. citizens and worsening crime rates throughout the country. His border czar, Tom Homan, has said that while the administration is prioritizing people with criminal backgrounds, anyone in the U.S. illegally is a potential target.

ICE stopped providing daily arrest totals earlier this month. But partial data since Trump took office showed the agency arresting on average 822 migrants a day. The agency arrested roughly 310 people a day in the 2024 fiscal year.

Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. make up about 4.6% of the employed labor force, or 7.5 million people, according to an analysis last year of 2022 Census Bureau data by the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit research and advocacy group. They make up 14% of construction workers, 13% of agricultural ones and 7% of those in hospitality, the study said.

A report last month by Standard Chartered Bank estimated that two-thirds of nonfarm payrolls growth in 2024 was driven by undocumented immigrants. As a result, the report said, "Trump's immigration crackdown could be much more disruptive than anticipated." Native-born citizens and legal immigrants would need to fill the void in the labor supply, according to the report, and if that requires higher wages, the effect could be inflationary. That is a concern given Wednesday's Labor Department report showing consumer prices rose more briskly than expected in January.

Brian Turmail, a spokesman for Associated General Contractors of America, said the trade group has received anecdotal reports from members in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma, among other locations, of workers not showing up. A recent survey by the organization showed nearly 80% of the group's members reported difficulty filling some or all open positions.

"Anything that reduces the supply of labor at all will have an impact on a contractor's ability to successfully deliver projects," Turmail said.

Sergio Terreros, president of the National Hispanic Contractors Association, said he has spoken with dozens of his members since Trump's inauguration and that roughly half reported a jump in absenteeism.

Jose Zaldivar, a contractor in the Washington, D.C., area, said among his regular crew of five workers, four have gone into hiding and no longer return his calls. A plumber and an electrician he often works with, along with their teams, also are staying home. As a result, he has had to turn down two projects in recent weeks.

"Stress has gotten hold of people," Zaldivar said. "Nobody wants to go out."

In the eldercare industry, which relies significantly on immigrant workers, fear and uncertainty are compounding existing hiring challenges, said Katie Smith Sloan, president of LeadingAge, which represents aging-services providers. She said member organizations have reported that some workers are staying home to care for their children, whom they are afraid to send to school.

In Wisconsin, some eldercare facilities have recruited immigrants who received work permits after qualifying to stay temporarily in the country under programs such as humanitarian parole and temporary protected status, said Robin Wolzenburg, a senior vice president at LeadingAge Wisconsin. Now that the Trump administration is ending those programs, the eligibility of such workers is in question, she said.

Many employers are consulting immigration lawyers and preparing staff for potential visits from ICE agents. Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said the trade group has boosted employment and immigration training for restaurant and nightlife businesses across the city.

"A lot of people feel a strong moral obligation to employees who have worked for them for many years," Rigie said. "It's complicated not just from a legal perspective, but from a moral one."

Fear is pervasive among immigrant families, which often include a mix of U.S. citizens, those with authorization to be in the country and those without.

Christina Gonzalez, owner of Taqueria Los Comales in Chicago, said about a third of her staff of 15 have stopped coming to work amid concerns about stepped-up enforcement. All of her workers have Social Security cards, so it isn't necessarily their own status they are worried about.

One 17-year-old employee told her he had to stay home to pick up his two younger siblings from school in case his parents got arrested. The children are all U.S. citizens, but their parents are undocumented despite living and working in the U.S. for decades.

"It's traumatizing," Gonzalez said.

Most migrants continue to show up, though. Erick Sanoja, a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. legally with his family through a humanitarian-parole program and has an employment permit, keeps working at an insulation company in a suburb of Salt Lake City.

The Trump administration's policy changes have filled Sanoja with dread. He said he is afraid to leave the house for English classes. He and his wife limit trips to the supermarket and stock up each time they go. His children no longer meet with friends to get ice cream.

"It's disturbing," Sanoja said. "We don't know what is going to happen with us."

Write to Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com and Chao Deng at chao.deng@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2025 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT)

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