Esmeralda Rosas’ family has been struggling financially the last three months after her supervisor paused her work on a roofing project when federal immigration agents were spotted at the construction site. She and her husband sold their work truck to make ends meet, and she hasn’t returned to work since mid-December.
“Ever since ICE has been here, we get sick easier, we have less confidence,” said Rosas, who doesn’t know when she’ll go back to work. “It just really affected the entire family.”
Many builders were afraid to go to work during Operation Metro Surge as federal agents targeted construction sites, delaying projects across the Twin Cities, according to contractors and labor union representatives. While winter is usually a slow season for construction, some contractors and union representatives say they’re worried immigration arrests and subsequent fear among workers will cause a labor shortage and delays on projects this spring and summer.
“I do feel that immigrants and people of color are a backbone to the strength of the construction industry, and they have very important positions as laborers and professionals – union or not – in how the Twin Cities are being built, so there are absolutely ripple effects,” said Cathryn Camacho, president of Camacho Contractors in Minneapolis.
There are 12,000 immigrants in construction in Minnesota, making up 6% of all workers in that industry, according to the Minnesota Budget Project, a research and advocacy organization. The project does not have a breakdown of immigration status.
Some construction projects this winter were delayed a few days to a few months because of immigration enforcement activity, according to labor union representatives and contractors.
Richard Knapp, a general contractor and co-owner of Tusk Builders in Minneapolis, said he knows three construction workers who were arrested and deported during Operation Metro Surge. Federal agents also detained one of his friends who works in construction, and held him in custody for about two months before releasing him.
“I wish it didn’t happen at all,” he said, adding that he wants the federal government to look into immigration reform that would allow more legal pathways for people to work and live in the country.
Knapp said his friend who was detained had a specialized skill that was difficult to replace, creating a two-month delay on a construction project. Knapp plans to work on six to 10 construction projects this spring and summer. As long as federal immigration enforcement stays calm, he expects to have enough builders to complete the projects.
While construction labor is expected to decrease dramatically this year, permit data in the greater 13-county region collected by Housing First Minnesota show that homebuilding activity in the first two months of this year is broadly in line with historical trends. At least 870 new residential construction permits were issued this January and February in over 50 cities in the area that voluntarily reported to the trade association.
In Minneapolis, however, only nine new residential construction permits have been filed in January and February. That’s 40% lower than the average number of permits from the same time period in the previous three years. St. Paul’s permit database shows that 18 new construction permits were filed as of March 17 this year, which is static compared to the same time period in 2025.
Grecia Palomar, a drywall and safety instructor, said she has been answering calls from families reporting that their relatives went missing after working on construction sites. Palomar is the president of the Twin Cities chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, an advocacy group for Latino workers and union members.
She worked alongside the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation to support families with rent relief, food and legal fees.
“Not having the workers there… it’s a financial burden for some contractors,” Palomar said.
A higher percentage of Latino workers are in construction trades such as drywall, roofing and painting, which were hit the hardest during Operation Metro Surge, she added.
Labor union representatives, contractors and Palomar said they received calls from builders reporting federal agents following them home or questioning them on construction sites.
“I’ve heard of probably a dozen times our members are either afraid to drive and been questioned,” said Jeff Heimerl, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 292.
About 400 students signed up this past winter for an apprenticeship program in Ham Lake to learn about roofing and waterproofing buildings, but more than 100 of them dropped out because they were afraid to leave their homes, said Tyler Krogen, a representative for the Roofers & Waterproofers Local Union 96.
“I think the membership feels frightened,” he said. “I know everyone’s talking about it, and there’s nothing good coming out of those conversations other than people are talking about it and trying to get through this time.”
He told students that their apprenticeship agreements would not be cancelled if they were afraid to attend class, and instead offered to enroll them in the upcoming training later in the year.
“My concern is that the work that’s out there — are we going to have the man and woman power to do them?’” Krogen said.
He knows of three union members who were detained by federal agents.
There have been at least nine reported sightings since December of federal immigration agents at construction sites, according to Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), a Minneapolis nonprofit advocating for fair wages and safe working conditions for immigrants and people of color. Agents were spotted on construction sites in Shakopee, Chanhassen, Plymouth, Monticello, Wayzata and Cottage Grove, among other locations.
“There’s been, for sure, way more instances that have gone unreported,” said Patricio Cambias, CTUL’s lead construction campaign organizer.
Credit: Dymanh Chhoun | Sahan Journal
Between late-December and early January, ICE raided and harassed construction workers three times at a single-family home in Shakopee developed by D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in the country by volume. CTUL organized a protest and visited D.R. Horton’s office in Lakeville, demanding that the company keep federal agents off its construction sites. D.R. Horton’s office did not respond to their demand or Sahan’s request for comment.
In another incident from mid-December, federal agents tried to arrest two construction workers, Edgar Chicaiza Dutan and Marco Chicaiza Dutan, while they worked on the roof of a new home in Chanhassen. More than 80 activists and community members showed up to confront the ICE officers. Both men were perched on the roof for approximately four hours in subzero windchills.
Edgar eventually descended from the roof and ICE officers took him to the hospital before detaining him. He later sued to be released from federal custody; his attorney declined to comment about his whereabouts. Marco was transported to the hospital after ICE left; his current location is unclear.
The Chanhassen case was one of the first signs of federal immigration enforcement affecting the construction industry, Rosas said.
“It was sad and painful, and more than anything, that’s when I started realizing that we would need to hide because we were being treated as criminals, even though we’re not criminals,” she said. “I feel like our lives are not going to be the same, and in a lot of ways, we’re starting from zero. The future feels daunting.”
Advocates and contractors say they’ve learned how to protect vulnerable workers at job sites: fences are being erected to tighten up security, houses under construction are being locked up and signs are being posted to let federal agents know they aren’t welcome.
“I think this really brought us together,” Palomar said, “and it showed us that we can’t always get too comfortable.”
Data reporter Cynthia Tu contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: The story has been updated with the correct job title for Grecia Palomar.
