ICE Crackdown at Home Depot (HD) Sparks Construction Crisis as Labor Shortage Hits Breaking Point
Federal raids on Home Depot contractors send shockwaves through an industry already bleeding workers.
Builders scramble as workforce vanishes overnight—just as summer construction season peaks. No backup plan, no easy fixes.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts shrug: 'Labor costs were getting too high anyway.'
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According to George Carrillo of the Hispanic Construction Council, these actions could impact critical U.S. work across the economy. Many of the laborers impacted by the raids are from Latin American countries and have been vital to smaller construction jobs. He warns that this crackdown will worsen existing labor shortages, especially with U.S. construction already short over 500,000 workers. Construction delays have increased, and if smaller subcontractors can’t finish jobs, the impact will spread across the industry.
Unsurprisingly, Home Depot clarified that while it has a no-solicitation policy, it is not involved in ICE operations and wasn’t notified of the raids. Still, experts say that the broader immigration issue remains unresolved. Rick Hermanns, CEO of HireQuest, warns that inconsistent enforcement creates economic uncertainty by encouraging under-the-table labor while punishing compliant businesses. Meanwhile, immigration attorney Loren Locke criticized the raids as targeting easy, non-threatening individuals rather than solving deeper problems.
Is HD Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 19 Buys, five Holds, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average HD price target of $428.30 per share implies 16.3% upside potential.
