To build more homes, contractors say they need more immigrant workers

Eddie Martin can’t build as many homes as he’d like in Texas because his contractors don’t have enough workers, particularly skilled tradespeople such as electricians, carpenters and plumbers.

Eddie Martin can’t build as many homes as he’d like in Texas because his contractors don’t have enough workers, particularly skilled tradespeople such as electricians, carpenters and plumbers. This labor shortage, exacerbated by an aging workforce and growing number of retirements, means it’s more crucial than ever for the US to allow more legal immigrants into the country to bolster the ranks of the construction industry, said Martin, CEO of Tilson Custom Home Builders in Austin. “We’re losing business. There’s no doubt,” said Martin, whose wife’s family started the company in 1932. “So many of those skilled workers are aging out. There’s nobody replacing them.” Martin works with 300 contractors to build homes for teachers, police officers, firefighters and others in the middle class, with 500 units currently in the pipeline. But he now has to tell would-be clients that it will likely take 14 months to complete the job, instead of nine months, which prompts some of them to walk away. If the contractors could boost their workforces by a third, Tilson says he could probably build another 175 homes a year. Martin, along with many others in the residential and commercial construction industries, have been pushing Congress for years to create a new work visa program or expand existing ones, such as the H-2B program, to enable them to hire more immigrants. Some would also like to accelerate work authorizations of asylum seekers so they can start training sooner instead of having to wait 180 days, as required by federal law. The need is growing as the demand for housing increases and as federal infrastructure funding is injected into communities across the country — at a time when fewer young Americans are choosing construction as a career. President Joe Biden has recently pushed several initiatives to lower housing costs and increase supply, including at a campaign stop in Nevada on Tuesday.