Are ICE Raids Sabotaging Green Building?
- Brainz Magazine
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 23
Written by Monserrat Menendez, Interior Designer
Monserrat is an entrepreneur, interior architect, and sustainability advocate, as well as the founder of Senom Design, a firm dedicated to merging innovative design with sustainable solutions. With over a decade of experience across residential, commercial, and international projects, she specializes in bringing clients’ visions to life through thoughtful, high-impact interiors.
Immigration enforcement is quietly undermining America’s climate goals. As ICE raids sweep through construction sites, they don’t just detain workers, they stall green projects, deepen labor shortages, and expose the hypocrisy of a sustainability movement built on exploited labor. Every delay adds pollution, every deportation drains expertise, and every “green” building left unfinished reveals a deeper cost of ignoring who builds the future we claim to protect.
When immigration policy meets climate policy
Immigration crackdowns are quietly derailing America’s green-building revolution. Every time ICE raids a construction site, the fallout goes far beyond the workers detained. It slows down projects that are supposed to fight climate change, deepens the labor crisis, and exposes the hypocrisy of building “sustainably” on the backs of exploited labor.
The numbers don’t lie
Roughly 22% of U.S. construction workers, about 2.2 million people, are immigrants. In January 2025, President Trump’s executive orders launched what he called the largest domestic deportation operation in American history, with construction singled out as a target industry.
The impact has been immediate:
Crews are 30 to 40% smaller than before.
Even legal workers are afraid to show up.
Ninety-two percent of construction firms say they can’t find enough labor.
This isn’t just an economic or humanitarian issue. It’s an environmental one.
1. Delayed projects mean extended pollution
In places like San Antonio and New Orleans, raids have delayed infrastructure and university projects for months. Every extra month of delay means:
Diesel generators and heavy equipment run longer.
Exposed materials deteriorate and must be replaced.
Green buildings that could be reducing emissions instead sit unfinished, producing them.
A six-month delay can double a project’s carbon footprint. Every stalled LEED-certified building is a missed chance to cut emissions by up to 50%.
2. The housing crisis fuels urban sprawl
A labor shortage has stalled billions of dollars’ worth of housing projects. When cities can’t build dense, efficient housing, families are pushed into sprawling suburbs, driving up emissions through:
Longer commutes and car dependence
More infrastructure (roads, utilities, services)
Loss of green space
Urban density is one of the strongest tools against climate change. ICE raids are dismantling that tool.
3. Losing green building expertise
Immigrant labor is essential to the sustainability movement. Many of the workers skilled in solar installation, green roofs, and eco-materials are now leaving the industry, or the country, out of fear. Sustainable construction already faces a shortage of skilled workers. ICE enforcement is turning that shortage into a crisis, threatening the next generation of energy-efficient buildings.
The exploitation nobody talks about
The construction boom has always leaned on underpaid immigrant labor.
U.S.-born workers make $3.12 per hour more than undocumented ones in the same roles.
About 6.5 million undocumented workers experience wage theft each year, losing $50 billion collectively.
Immigrant workers suffer 300 more fatalities and 61,000 additional injuries annually than native-born peers.
ICE raids don’t stop exploitation. They amplify it. When deportation looms, workers are too scared to report abuse, and exploitative contractors face no consequences. If sustainability is supposed to mean fairness and safety, building “green” structures on exploited labor isn’t sustainable at all.
Building solutions that work
1. Legal pathways for construction workers
The U.S. can create sector-specific work permits, similar to agricultural H-2A visas but tailored for year-round construction:
Fast-track permits for workers on green or infrastructure projects.
Employer-sponsored legalization for workers with sustainability certifications.
Support for the Dignity Act of 2025, offering legal status through background checks and taxes.
This stabilizes the workforce without sacrificing border control.
2. Fair-trade construction standards
Just as we have “Fair Trade” coffee or clothing, we can certify ethical construction:
Expand LEED certification to include labor standards.
Introduce “Fair-Trade Certified Construction” labels guaranteeing legal, fairly paid labor.
Offer tax breaks or incentives for developers using certified contractors.
Buildings shouldn’t earn a sustainability badge while their builders are exploited.
3. Protect workers on green projects
Some cities are experimenting with “construction sanctuaries” for essential projects:
Workers on pre-approved sustainable housing get protection from workplace raids.
City-sponsored worker centers connect legal and undocumented labor with vetted projects.
Fast-tracked permits go to developers who use union or certified fair-labor crews.
This approach keeps crucial climate projects on schedule while upholding human rights.
4. Train the next generation
Gen Z increasingly wants green careers. We can bridge their aspirations with the expertise of experienced immigrant workers:
Apprenticeship programs pairing immigrant mentors with young Americans.
Certification courses in solar, energy efficiency, and sustainable materials.
Worker cooperatives providing stable, fairly paid employment.
A Germany-style training model that links apprenticeship to legal residency or citizenship.
The goal is a diverse, skilled, legally protected green-building workforce.
Why this matters now
Construction is one of the biggest climate battlegrounds. In the U.K., the built environment produces 45% of total emissions and 32% of landfill waste. The U.S. numbers are similar.
To hit climate goals, we must:
Build and retrofit energy-efficient structures.
Expand renewable energy infrastructure.
Design dense, walkable, transit-oriented communities.
All of that depends on workers, many of them immigrants. Roughly 1.4 million undocumented people already work in construction, the highest of any U.S. industry. Deporting or terrorizing them sabotages our climate agenda.
Learning from other countries
Other nations have already balanced labor needs and sustainability:
Germany uses dual-track apprenticeships that train both citizens and immigrants.
Canada fast-tracks skilled tradespeople through its Provincial Nominee Program.
U.S. agriculture already operates temporary-visa systems, flawed but functional, that could inspire a construction model.
We don’t lack blueprints. We lack political will.
The choice before us
We face two paths:
Continue raids that shrink the workforce, delay projects, inflate costs, and worsen emissions.
Adopt smart reforms that legalize, protect, and train workers while fast-tracking sustainable construction.
Environmental progress and worker dignity are not opposing goals, they’re inseparable. A “green” building built on exploitation isn’t green at all.
Take action
Individuals
Support comprehensive immigration reform like the Dignity Act of 2025.
Choose contractors who pay fair wages and protect workers.
Ask about labor practices in your own renovation or development projects.
Policymakers
Establish worker centers and sanctuary policies for sustainable construction.
Update LEED standards to include labor protections.
Fund apprenticeship programs that unite immigrant and U.S.-born trainees.
Industry leaders
Conduct fair-wage audits and ensure legal employment across your supply chain.
Partner with worker cooperatives for eco-projects.
Invest in green-training programs that offer legal work pathways.
The bottom line
We can’t fight climate change without builders, and we can’t call it “sustainable” if it’s built on fear and exploitation. Sustainable buildings need skilled, protected workers. Protecting those workers is protecting the planet.
Monserrat Menendez, Interior Designer
Monserrat is an entrepreneur, interior architect, and sustainability advocate, as well as the founder of Senom Design, a firm dedicated to merging innovative design with sustainable solutions. With over a decade of experience across residential, commercial, and international projects, she specializes in bringing clients’ visions to life through thoughtful, high-impact interiors.
She is the U.S. Brand Ambassador for U Green, an organization that helps companies become more profitable while empowering people and brands to follow a consistent path toward sustainability through transformative education and specialized consulting. As an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine, she shares her expertise in design, sustainability, and innovation. Her mission is to create spaces that are not only beautiful but also responsible and forward-thinking.
