When Hamid Moghadam, CEO of San Francisco-based Prologis — the largest industrial real estate firm in the world — sounded the alarm in a recent Bloomberg interview that “construction costs are going to go up radically... all of this immigration stuff is putting more pressure on construction,” he wasn’t just talking dollars and cents.
He was exposing the dirty secret about California’s construction labor market that Democrats have spent decades covering up.
For too long, California Democrats have gaslit the public, claiming illegal immigration fills jobs “Americans won’t do.” The truth? Illegal immigration props up a rigged system that actively shuts out legal American workers.
The CEO of Prologis, a real estate investment trust that owns and runs warehouses, said US immigration policy is causing a labor shortage that’s driving building costs higher https://t.co/OIgSEbDa7R
— Bloomberg (@business) July 16, 2025
Moghadam ripped the mask off the lie:
“I know that there is a shortage of labor coming up in the construction industry because of the immigration policies.”
The so-called “construction labor shortage” isn’t a shortage of workers. It’s a shortage of access. California’s pipeline for legal, local workers is clogged with bureaucracy, union gatekeeping, and political back-scratching. For years, construction sites have survived only because they quietly depend on undocumented labor.
Now that federal agents are cracking down, the illegal house of cards is starting to crumble, and Democrats are desperately scrambling to shift blame.
Where’s the Workforce?
California Democrats love unveiling flashy workforce programs with endless talk about “equity” and “reskilling.” They’ll acknowledge illegal labor exists, but they refuse to fix the real problem: botched policies that block legal workers from building a future in construction while enabling illegal labor to run rampant.
- The state wastes over $6 billion annually on nearly 30 separate workforce programs.
- Funds are scattered across 8 state agencies, creating a chaotic, wasteful mess.
- Most programs don’t even track job placement, completion rates, or wage growth, so nobody knows if they work.
In other words: no transparency, no accountability, zero results.
Unfortunately, the construction industry bears the full cost. Instead of a clear, reliable path from training to work, eager job-seekers face:
- A framework mired in inefficiency and favoritism.
- Waitlists of 6 to 18 months just to enter an apprenticeship.
- Union-dominated gatekeepers blocking independent workers.
In places like South Central L.A., Watts, and East L.A. — communities crushed by unemployment and neglect — thousands of young men and women wait years for a shot they never get.
Meanwhile, job sites keep hammering because politicians and contractors can rely on illegal labor while ignoring the real workforce crisis.
How California Lost Control of Its Labor Supply
This crisis didn’t just happen. California Democrats handed it to their cronies on a silver platter. Instead of expanding real opportunities for legal workers, they doubled down on their corrupt playbook to protect their buddies.
They gamed the system for union insiders by preserving carve-outs and project labor agreements (PLAs). These rules shut out independent contractors and starve legal workers of opportunity. At the same time, they ignored urgent calls for mandatory E-Verify enforcement, turning a blind eye as undocumented labor flooded public projects unchecked, and undercut honest workers and contractors alike. On top of that, they rejected practical training partnerships with independent builders.
The result? Legal workers stuck in endless waitlists and dead-end programs, while desperate contractors scramble to find any help they can get. The construction industry was shoveled into the shadows, relying on illegal labor and unlicensed crews to dig its way out.
In cities like Los Angeles, Fresno, and Oakland, this illicit labor economy has become the backbone of construction. The facts are brutal. According to the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, 26% of California’s construction workforce is undocumented. That’s nearly 280,000 workers operating below the radar.
The labor shortage isn’t about immigration. It’s about a subverted system that forces workers and employers underground.
Enforcement Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Mirror
Contrary to liberal belief, ICE’s recent crackdowns aren’t causing developers to lose workers.
What they’re really losing is access to illegal labor they were never meant to rely on. A labor force serving as the backbone of a crooked scheme designed by political insiders and union bosses who couldn't care less about:
- American workers shut out of opportunity,
- Honest small contractors squeezed by cooked rules, and
- Whole communities abandoned and forgotten.
Immigrant raids are impacting every sector of our local economy. With more and more homes under construction, workers too afraid to come to work is the last thing our communities need as we rebuild from one of the worst natural disasters in state history. https://t.co/axIuZFovPb
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) July 13, 2025
And now that ICE is finally doing its job?
Democrats are throwing tantrums, screaming that immigration enforcement is “destroying the industry.”
No, it’s not. ICE’s actions are a mirror, exposing the tainted apparatus that Democrats built and continue to protect at all costs.
This is Malice
The media wants you to believe ICE is the villain.
But the truth is far uglier: Decades of Democrat corruption, union cronyism, and a willful reliance on illegal labor have wrecked California’s construction workforce.
California is overflowing with hardworking citizens ready to build. Yet, Democrats refuse to break the union stranglehold or clean up the rot. Why? Because dysfunction keeps their cronies rich and their grip on power unshaken.
Republicans must keep exposing these lies — and lead the fight to rebuild an industry that puts legal American workers first.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member