Trump’s Clashing Goals: More Housing, Fewer Immigrants

From New York Times, I'm Michael. Barbaro. >> [music]. >> This is The Daily. >> [music]. >> To confront America's acute shortage of. housing, Congress just passed a historic. piece [music] of legislation designed to. encourage the construction of new homes. The problem is that President Trump's. crackdown on [music] immigrants is. taking direct aim at the workforce.

required to build those homes. Today, my colleague, [music]. Ronda Kayson, explains how the US. housing industry became so dependent. [music] on immigrant labor and how that. reliance could end up undermining a. once-in-a-generation housing law. >> [music]. >> It's Wednesday, >> [music]. >> July 22nd.

Ronda, welcome to The Daily. >> Thank you. Thank you for having me. >> So, let me just set the stage. By the. time that. Congress decided to pass this landmark. housing bill, which has now become law. and is supposed to make it a lot easier. and faster to construct new homes in. this country, you had finished a line of reporting. into the workers who actually build.

those houses. And that reporting allowed you to see, more clearly than most of us, that there was a little bit of a problem. here. And that problem was a gap between. intention and kind of reality. Just. explain that. >> So, if we look at the law specifically, this new law that was passed has all. sorts of tools in it to get housing. built. All sorts of different ways that. you can encourage developers to make it. easier for them to build, encourage them.

to want to build, but somebody has to. actually build those homes. >> Right. >> And we already had this labor shortage. We've been short 300,000. workers for a long time. And Trump has. another policy, which is separate of. this industry, which is to have a mass. deportation policy. And no industry is. more reliant on immigrant labor than. construction. >> Right. The two goals that the president. has and has [clears throat] articulated. at various points, a cheaper housing. market and a major crackdown on illegal.

immigration, you're saying those are. profoundly in tension. >> Right. The core of the housing crisis is. that we haven't built enough housing. We. really haven't built enough housing in. decades. And one of the reasons is that we don't. have enough workers to build the. housing. And so labor costs are high, which makes it expensive. And construction relies on labor and. relies on immigrant labor. And Trump has been actively deporting. that population. And so Congress passes.

this landmark legislation that's a first. time in more than 30 years that the. federal government has said we want to. build housing. At the same time, the. federal government's also saying. we want to deport the immigrant. workforce. >> Who builds the houses? >> Who builds the houses? And so you could. end up with a situation where there's. all sorts of builders ready to go and. they don't have the workers to do the. work. So I wanted to know how did the. construction industry become so reliant. on an immigrant workforce so that it's.

now so vulnerable to losing its workers. because the country wasn't always this. way. This was not always an immigrant. job. >> Well, just explain what you found in. your reporting about how it came to be. that the US housing industry. has become so dependent on immigrant. labor and as you just said, so. vulnerable to losing those workers to a. crackdown. >> So, construction employs the highest. share of foreign-born workers of any.

industry in America. >> Huh. >> And to explain how we got to this point, we usually hear one of these two. stories. We either hear that immigrants. stole Americans' jobs, or we hear that. Americans were too lazy to do these. jobs. >> Mhm. >> But these two narratives put together. don't make a lot of sense. >> They can't both be true. >> Why not? >> Well, because there's a tension in that. Like, so one is I don't want the job, and the other one is I'm stealing a job. you'd want. So, which one is it?

>> quite add up. >> So, it doesn't add up to me. And so, my. colleague Rob Gebeloff and I really. wanted to know why did American workers. leave this industry, and why did the. immigrant workers come into it? >> Mhm. And what did you actually find? >> So, what we found is the story starts in. the 1970s. And back then, homes were built almost. exclusively by American workers. There.

was about me 5% of the industry was. foreign-born. And union membership at this time was at. an all-time high. It was like 40% of all. construction workers were unionized, which was like higher than other. industries. >> So, if you were getting a house built in. the US in the 1970s, it was almost. assuredly going to be built by. American-born unionized workers. >> Certainly for new construction and for. the larger projects, yeah. These were. union jobs. And they were good jobs. [music]. So, union construction workers earned.

$1.71 for every dollar the average. American worker earned. >> Wow. >> You had health insurance, you had a. pension, you had vacations, [music]. and it was a job you didn't have to have. a college degree for. And one of the construction workers I. met from that era was Matt Moore. >> So, are you from Orange County. originally? >> Uh no, I was actually born in LA County, born in Lynwood. >> And he was really emblematic of the type. of workers who were working in the.

industry at that time. >> How so? >> Well, he graduated from high school in. Southern California in 1975. He doesn't really know what to do with. his life. >> My father told me one thing when I was. growing up. cuz after I graduated high school I was. going to I wanted to go to college. and he looked at me and he said there's. two kinds of humans. He goes there's two kinds of man. There's man with a strong mind, man with. a strong back. God blessed you with a. strong back. Go to work.

>> He decides to work at a parts department. at a Volkswagen dealership and one. afternoon his high school buddy comes in. and says, "Hey, >> uh I just started roofing." He goes uh. and it's great. He goes, "You can get $2. more an hour.". I was making $2 an hour and I doubled my. money starting roofing. Uh we went to. the union shop, went to the hall, signed. the paperwork and that was it. >> And he goes to the union hall, he fills. out his union card, he gets a pair of. hot boots, which are the boots you wear.

on a roof, and he's up on a roof that. day. >> I so want to know what a pair of hot. boots looks like. >> I saw them. They're just like boots, but. I guess they don't melt. >> [laughter]. >> So, suddenly he's an apprentice and he. absolutely loves it. He's out in the. Southern California sunshine. He's. throwing up roofs from the ocean to the. mountains in Orange County. He's. building tracts of homes in California. >> If we were working by the coast, we. brought our surfboards and everybody. went surfing afterwards. Surf the glass.

off at night. >> And he's going surfing in the afternoon. >> What a life. >> Yeah, and he is happy as a clam. >> Work would dry up. >> Okay. >> But it wasn't a big deal. You just go to. the hall and they'd say, "Hey, who wants. to here?" and they would pull you off. the list and they'd give you a slip and. you'd go to the next job. >> So, he's getting paid well, he's 19. years old, and he meets a girl, as one. does. >> [laughter]. >> Uh the girl I was dating, which became. my wife, she looked at my bank account. and said, "What are you going to do with. this money?". And I said, "I'm going to go buy me a. Dodge truck.".

>> So, he's got $10,000 in bank, and he. wants to buy a car. $10,000 in the bank. in 1976. by now? >> That's real money. >> Right, so he's got real money. >> And she said, "No, you're going to go. buy a house.". >> His parents never owned a house. >> So, I said, "Okay, I'll go buy a house. then.". >> That's a How much was it? >> 48,000. >> He buys a house, and he's 20 years old, all from making money as a roofer. >> Right, not old enough to drink, but old. enough to buy a home. >> And he's only been putting on roofs for. 2 years. >> So, this is quite lucrative, and it.

sounds like things are going pretty. swimmingly for Matt. >> Right, for Matt, this is a gravy train. he's on. And in the 1970s, the unions. had locked in really, really strong. contracts, partly because of Vietnam. War, there was less workers, like they. had gotten these great contracts. But. then you've got this period where. there's high inflation, high interest. rates. >> Right, this is the '70s. >> So, the late '70s, and the home builders. and corporate America decides it's time. to start fighting back against unions.

that have been incredibly powerful for. decades. >> [music]. >> And they form a lobbying group, and one. of their goals was to weaken labor laws, and to sort of break the stranglehold. that unions had on industry, and. construction was in the center of this. So, they start [music] introducing. non-union crews into unionized job. sites. >> It happened very slowly. What happened. was a a lot of non-union started coming.

up. >> So, the way this plays out in Southern. California, where Matt is, is that in. 1983 the Carpenters Union goes on strike. and the real heart of the strike is not. about wages, but is about whether. non-union shops can come into any job. where there's a carpenter union. >> Got it. >> They think they're going to win on this, >> [music]. >> but instead the strike drags on for 4. months. >> Wow. And they're not working during this. period. >> working during this period. They're. losing money. They've basically.

underestimated how determined the home. builders would be. Meanwhile, other. local unions have gotten involved. >> Because we were fighting other trades at. that period and not fighting our and not. fighting the where we should have been. fighting. >> There's a lot of infighting and the. coalition starts to break down [music]. and they have to make a deal. And in the end the unions concede to the. home builders and let non-union. crews on residential sites where there's.

a unionized carpenter. >> Basically, they lose on the marquee. issue of the strike itself. >> Exactly. >> [music]. >> But at the time it doesn't seem like. that big of a deal. >> Why not? >> Because while they were letting. non-union workers come into unionized. residential projects, the union still. had a lock on the commercialized work in. the construction industry. >> We had so much what they called. commercial work. We had so much of it.

>> California's building a lot and they're. building a lot of commercial. They're. building hotels, they're building. hospitals, they're building strip malls. >> It was just flowing out of the. the the cracks. We had so much. >> So the union say, "It's fine. We'll just. go do commercial.". >> I brought it up more than once. They. said, "Oh, we have too much uh. Don't worry about it. There's too much. commercial. Go to work.". >> So if they. cede some of their work in the. residential sector. >> They'll be okay. >> They'll be okay. >> will make up for the residential.

>> Right. No big deal. >> Okay. >> Do you think it was a mistake things. like turned away didn't worry about. residential? >> I do. >> Why? >> Because it it it eliminated a whole uh. section of our industry. I honestly. think when we lost residential it it. changed. my trajectory in the industry. >> Tell me. Like so. >> Matt immediately notices a change. The. first thing he sees as he goes into the. union hall where he's supposed to see. his jobs and there's far fewer. residential jobs available. There's just.

less of them and the ones that are. available are a lot smaller. There's. just like they're not building 60, 80. trucks of homes, maybe it's 10. >> That's when two gates started coming up. We had a union gate and a non-union. gate. >> And when he goes to the job sites, he. starts seeing two gates, one for union. crews and one for non-union crews. >> Huh. >> [snorts]. >> And they're keeping those workers. separate. So remember though at this time in the. early 1980s. both the unionized and non-unionized. workers were still American-born.

workers. >> Hm. That's just the demographics of this. workforce. >> That's the demographics of America at. the time. But. >> [music]. >> in the early 1980s was the beginning of. Reaganism and he was very pro-business, but he was also very pro-immigrant. He. had a huge amnesty program and his. successor George H. W. Bush saw an even. bigger wave of immigrants and he. expanded Reagan's amnesty programs and. he ends up signing the Immigration Act. of 1990, which is this major piece of. legislation that created the TPS.

program, H-1B visas, a visa lottery. program. He does, you know, also add in. some border protections and try [music]. to reduce illegal immigration, but. overall this is a time where the borders. are porous and it was not the hard. border that we think of today. >> [music]. >> So all these immigrants are looking for. work and many of them are coming in. without documentation and [music]. and many of them also in either already. knowing how to build homes.

or they come and join family members. who've already gotten jobs in. construction. And so construction becomes a natural. place for immigrants to find [music]. work. And for the American worker, these home. construction jobs are becoming less. appealing as non-union work grows in the. sector. [music]. And these non-union jobs don't have. those good benefits. And so [music] Matt starts seeing the. labor force changing. Suddenly there's. more Spanish being spoken on the job.

sites. A few years later, the foremen. are often Spanish speaking. >> I literally was working one day and I. turned around on the roof and I happened. to be the oldest guy and the whitest guy. on the roof. I wonder what happened to all the white. guys. I really did. They all went. different places. Nobody wanted to do it. anymore. >> So, just to be clear about the sequence. of events here, home builders decide to. challenge the union's hold over the. construction of housing. [clears throat]. They say we want non-union workers. They.

fight the unionized workers to get that. to happen. And as that's happening, these waves of. immigrants are coming to the US. and they are being introduced especially. to this non-union world of home. construction, which it sounds like is. very open to hiring them. >> Exactly. It's almost like a parallel. experience is happening because. you know, while Matt is noticing that.

the folks who look like him on the job. site are disappearing, I spoke with a. lot of immigrants who arrived during. that time period and they tell almost a. similar story to what Matt's youth was. like. >> Mhm. >> So, one guy I spoke with was named. Mariano Martinez. >> So, where are you Where were you born? Where are you. >> Oaxaca, Mexico. >> Okay. >> And he's also a roofer. And he arrived. in the United States, he was 19. He came. in the late 1980s. from Oaxaca, Mexico. >> So, he walked across the border? And it.

was easy then? >> Back in the day, yeah, it was. It was. like not even half hour. >> Okay, did it cost a lot of money or? >> No, it was like $110, I think. >> Okay. >> He crosses the border with the help of a. coyote. He's initially working at a. gardening center and he's not making. very much money. He got laid off. And. like Matt, a friend tells him about. roofing. >> Oh my god, quite literally it is a. parallel story. >> story. And so, what did your friend say. about roofing? >> Well, he said it was a hard work, but if.

you like it, it's a good job. >> So, what So, when you What was your. >> So, he doesn't speak any English. He. shows up on a job site. They put him on. a roof. He's got to rip off an old roof. It's horrible work. He absolutely hates. it. He thinks he's never going to do. this again. >> But, I really needed the job, so I. act like really know know what I'm. doing, but. definitely then. >> Did you go. >> The money's a lot better. And he comes back the next day anyway. And in a few months, he's making $100 a. day in cash.

So, the money's good, but there's no. benefits. >> And then did you have a health. insurance? >> No, not at that time. >> No, I see. >> There's no retirement, there's no paid. vacation, but it's more money than he's. ever seen. And his friends actually tell him, you. know, there is union work you can get, but it's not worth it because it's not. steady. There's all this work in the. non-union work. There's so much to be. had. Or the union work, there's all. these rules and you may be out of work. sometimes. So, he never even bothers to.

consider union work. And he doesn't have. to because. >> the contracts no longer require it. >> Right. And for Mariano, the money is so. good that by the late '90s, he's also. married and he has enough money to buy a. house, also in Southern California. >> Mhm. >> I'm really curious as immigrants like. Mariano are starting to take these. non-union home construction jobs, what. is happening to people like Matt? Clearly, he's looking around and. the world is changing, but I presume.

that he's still getting plenty of union. construction work. >> Right, he's he's not even looking at the. jobs that Mariano is looking at. So, remember, he's still looking at the jobs. in the union hall. So, he's not seeing. Mariano's jobs. Unionized workers have. just shifted increasingly into. commercial work. >> Right, as they kind of predicted. >> As they predicted. So, which sounds. like, well, what's the difference? I. mean, a job is a job, a roof is a roof. >> Commercial work, did you go up and do. high-rises and stuff? >> Yes. >> Wow, how was that? Was that hard? >> Yeah, it was hard. >> Was it harder than residential roofing?

>> Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we. >> But, putting a roof on a two-story house. in the Orange County suburbs is a lot. different than putting a roof on a. 30-story tower. These are multi-million. dollar projects. There's a lot of. pressure to get them built very fast. You're up on steel beams. You can get. seriously injured. It's very hard, hard. work. The hours are much longer. >> like that. And trying to get the trash. off, we'd put these big giant tubes up.

and you would throw the trash in the. tube from the roof. And if it got stuck, well, you had to send the smallest guy. down on a rope inside the tube. >> No. >> Yeah. >> And, you know, Matt tells stories of. just intense physical labor and and real. danger with real injuries. >> Oh, I've broken my back twice. I've ripped off this arm, ripped off. this wrist, ripped off this elbow. >> Fell off a roof. >> He fell off a roof and ripped his arm. off his body and had it reattached. Showed me the scars.

>> My knee is completely wiped out. I've. broken both my ankles several times, broken my pelvis, fractured ribs. [music]. >> But, even despite how difficult the job. was, Matt and other commercial roofers. still had enough work and had decent. salary and benefits to hang on and to. build a good solid life. But then something happens that no one. anticipated that makes American-born.

unionized workers like Matt feel even. more [music] left behind. >> We'll be right back. So Rocio, what happens that makes life. and work.

even worse for folks like Matt? >> The housing boom. If. >> Not not intuitive, but I know you're. going to explain. >> Right. If you all remember in the early. 2000s, there was this huge housing boom. fueled by subprime mortgages and. Americans start building millions of new. homes. And also, they're not just. building anywhere. They're building in. the Sun Belt, states like Arizona, Nevada, and Texas, and California, where. there's a lot of immigrants because. these are border states and many of.

these states are right-to-work states. So they have very, very weak union. representation. And so where the. construction industry is growing is. increasingly non-union and they have. this enormous workforce that is moving. across the border eager and willing to. take these jobs that are not. particularly attractive to a worker. who's born in the United States. >> Got it. So I'm intuiting from what. you're saying that this is a boom time. for non-union.

foreign-born construction workers. >> It is. And if you look at the share of. foreign-born workers in the construction. industry, it is just skyrocketing during. this period. But what's also happening. simultaneously. is union membership for both. foreign-born workers and American-born. workers is falling from this peak of. 40%. It's just falling off a cliff. >> Mhm. >> And while that's happening, wages for. both union workers and non-union workers. aren't keeping up with everyone else's.

wages. >> Why? >> Well, because if you think of union. workers as like the standard of what. you're supposed to be paid, then even if. you're hiring for a non-union job, you're kind of matching that a bit. So, as there's fewer workers in unions, they. there's fewer jobs to be had, wages. start to shrink, and then the non-union. wages sort of fall in concert. >> Because if the standard starts to go. away, then the non-standard pay can. start to fall faster. >> Exactly. So, in some ways, union work, even if you're not unionized, keeps your.

standard of living a little bit higher. for everyone. And that standard is now. falling. And [snorts] at the same time, we're. seeing this huge wave of immigration. that is really transforming. the construction industry. Remember, in. 1973, about 5% of construction workers. were foreign-born. >> Right, tiny percent. >> Tiny percent. But so, during the housing. boom, the percent continues to just. soar. And now in California, they make. up half of all construction workers. In. some parts of the construction industry,

like drywall, roofing, they're like 80, 90% of the workers are now foreign-born. And also, the unions provided huge. apprenticeship programs. Matt came in. and was trained on day one. He went. through a long apprenticeship program. where he got trained to do a union roof. When Mariano came, there was no. apprenticeship program. He was just. trained by his friends. So, you don't. have that apprenticeship program that. was a pipeline to train a new workforce. cuz the unions don't exist. And so, young people graduating from high school.

are no longer putting on their hot boots. and getting on a roof. >> So, even before the housing boom. inevitably yields to a housing crash. that we all remember, the entire infrastructure that. encourages. American-born. workers to go into construction is. eroding. on top of the fact that. the wage advantages of entering this.

industry are starting to evaporate as. well. >> Right. And all these things are. happening together. So, the pathways to get into construction. for an American-born worker are rapidly. disappearing because the unions are. disappearing, because the construction. that's happening is happening in places. where there's no unions, and they're. building residential homes. And instead, what's happening is a pathway for. immigrants. So, Mariano arrives, his. friend tells him about this job, he. brings cousins and got them jobs in. construction in Southern California as.

immigrants. And that becomes the new. pathway into construction. >> So, what happens when this housing boom. inevitably becomes a housing bust in. 2007, 2008, 2009? >> It's a complete disaster for the. construction industry. No industry faced. more job losses than construction. Almost 2 million workers lost their. jobs. That's one in four construction. workers lost their jobs. For workers like Matt, they were staring.

down the barrel of a very bleak future. It had already become a pretty hostile. environment for them. So, Matt is 51, and he walks away. >> He quits the construction industry in. the middle of the housing crisis. >> He retires. He gets his pension, and he. walks away. And he is one of millions of. workers who did the same thing. And so, as the industry starts to churn again. and starts to rebuild, it never reaches. the levels it did in 2000s, which is.

what is sort of setting us up for where. we are today. Home builders are not. building at scale. They're not building. the number of houses Americans need, and. there's a labor force that was just. never recovered. We're short 300,000. workers because they left, and they. retired, and they didn't come back. And. we don't have the pipeline of new young. American-born workers to fill those. jobs. So, now we have a workforce that. is incredibly dependent on the immigrant.

workers who have been here and have been. working and building homes for years in. this country, and they're being. deported. They're being deported from. job sites, and they're being deported. from Home Depots, and they're being. deported from their homes. And if they. aren't being deported, they're afraid to. come to work. >> Mhm. It can't have escaped the awareness. of the president and those around him. that at this moment, when America. desperately needs a lot more housing, and faces a shortage of workers to build. it, that this deportation campaign is at.

odds with the goal of getting more. housing and more affordable housing. And I wonder if the Trump administration. assumed, believed, that if it was. deporting all these foreign-born workers. who are building these houses, that it. might bring the American-born workforce. back somehow? >> Yeah, I think that is the vision. Is. that wages will rise because now you'll. have to pay them again the good wages. that you once had. I think that's J.D.

Vance's argument, for sure. Home. builders will have to pay more, and. American workers will come and take. these jobs, and that the problem is, again, that immigrants have taken their. jobs, and if you remove the immigrants. from the equation, the Americans will. fill the void. >> Is there any evidence that that's. starting to happen? >> Um there's actually evidence that it's. not. So, researchers found that in. communities where there was a high level. of deportation, employment dropped for. immigrant workers. >> Right. >> But, here's what's kind of surprising.

Employment also fell for American-born. workers. >> Huh. And what does the study say is the. causality there? Why? >> Well, you would think that contractors would. raise wages because they're short on. workers, but that's not really the way. the industry works. American-born workers and foreign-born. workers aren't evenly split across the. industry. You have a concentration of. foreign-born workers who maybe build the. foundations. So, let's say your crew. that builds a foundation doesn't show up. because they've all been deported or. they're afraid to go to work.

So, you don't build the foundation. So, then when you call in the carpenter, >> They're like, "What am I supposed to. build on? There's no foundation.". >> So, you don't need the carpenter. So, you just don't hire him. You know, in my reporting, I spoke with. a number of contractors who said jobs. that were taking 3 months to build now. take 5 months to build because there's. just fewer workers to get each stage of. the project done. >> [snorts]. >> And they're not paying their workers any. more money. They're just taking longer. to get the job done. And this housing bill doesn't address. the labor force. It doesn't provide a.

pathway to a trade school or any. requirements to hire unionized labor. So, it provides no. avenues to expand an American-born. workforce. There is one place in the bill that does. speak to a potential future, and that is the factory-built housing. So, the bill makes the first major. changes to manufactured housing, which. means that now we can build lots of. different types of factory-built. housing. That kind of housing requires. less labor. You don't need as many. workers. I'm not sure if that's an.

upside, but it's an upside for housing, but not. for. construction workers. >> Exactly. >> So, Rhonda, I want to end by returning. to where we began this conversation, which is with these prevailing. narratives around why the US home. construction industry became so reliant. on foreign-born workers. One of those myths is that foreign. workers took those jobs from Americans. The other myth is that the American. workers decided they didn't want to do. those jobs anymore. But obviously, it's.

much more complicated than those simple. stories. >> Yes, and I think it's a provocative. thing to say, but what we learned. through the reporting is that there's. some elements of truth in both these. threads. Yes, immigrants replaced Americans in. the jobs they used to hold, right? But. it was because they had an opportunity. to do so where they couldn't before. The. government allowed them in. and the unions no longer had a lock on. the jobs, and businesses wanted to hire.

them, and they made a choice to do that. >> Right. They wanted this cheaper labor. that was non-union. They pushed for it. And the immigrants presented themselves. as that cheaper labor. >> Exactly. So, you had this partnership. between government and business to. really decide together to erode what was. a really solid American job. >> Mhm. >> And as young American-born workers. entered the workforce during this. period, they looked at this backbreaking.

manual labor that maybe their fathers. had done, and it didn't feel worth it to them. There were other opportunities where the. wages were higher, where the protections. were safer, where there were health. benefits, where maybe there was air. conditioning in an office. And the. industry no longer appealed to a new. generation of American-born workers. And in its place, it opened an. opportunity for a generation of people. coming to this country looking for work.

>> Mhm. >> But they didn't exactly take jobs from. people who wanted them anymore. >> I mean, one of the things that strikes. me is that. almost everyone in the story you have. told here. did act in a pretty. economically rational way, right? US-born workers started to walk away. from an industry when the work became. less lucrative. Immigrant workers still. flocked to it because it was lucrative.

enough for them, and builders saw it. cheaper and cheaper labor in a system. that didn't require them to work with. just unionized workers. So, in a system. where everyone's acting rationally, and. we end up in a place where there's more. and more foreign-born workers at the. center of the industry, and then the. government decides that a lot of those. workers need to leave the country, and we have a huge housing shortage, and. not enough workers to build,

in that scenario, where lots of people have been acting. naturally, and it's not working, it. feels like the only solution is for. something unnatural to happen, and I. wonder what you, as someone quite expert. in this area, think. that perhaps unnatural thing now needs. to be. What is going to fix the American. housing crisis if there aren't enough. American-born workers who want to do the. work, and increasingly there are. foreign-born workers who are being asked. to leave?

>> I mean, one option, obviously, is to. rethink the deportation policy. >> Mhm. >> Another option is to really have. meaningful training programs. If it If. it is a priority for this administration. to have a domestic workforce, then there needs to be quality training. programs and quality wages for workers. across the board. You need to sort of decide to have a. policy that would actually rebuild the. ranks of the workforce. >> [music].

>> And absent that, you're just sort of. haphazardly. removing an already fragile workforce, that just makes it harder to get the job. done. >> [music]. >> Rowanda, thank you very much. >> You're welcome. [music].

>> We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. The governor of New Jersey, Democrat. Mikey Sherrill, [music] said that about. 400 non-citizens voted in the state. >> [music]. >> after they were improperly registered in. 2023 and 2024. The voting [music] was the result of a. software error at the New Jersey. Department of Motor Vehicles, which. [music] put more than 6,000 non-citizens.

on the voter rolls, even after they had. disclosed their immigration status. New Jersey said that the voting had no. [music] impact on any elections, and. that all of the non-citizens have been. removed from the state's [music] voter. rolls. >> And. >> we've never seen an outbreak this large. for this parasite [music] in the US. >> As cases of Cyclospora surge across the. United States, >> [music].

>> inflicting diarrhea on thousands of. people, my colleague, Alice Callahan, has been. looking into the central question raised. by the outbreak. >> [music]. >> For Cyclospora, the parasite only. survives in humans, so as far as we. know, it has to come from human feces. >> How did a parasite that only grows in. the human gut somehow get into our food. system on such a large scale? >> So, usually what that means is there is. a situation on farms where.

>> [music]. >> their septic system maybe has a leak in. it or they have outhouses next to the. field and somehow the waste gets [music]. into the water supply that's then used. to irrigate the crop. >> So far, [music] government agencies have. linked the current outbreak to iceberg. lettuce grown in Mexico that a company. called Taylor Farms supplied to Taco. Bell locations in multiple states.

Taylor Farms has now recalled iceberg. lettuce from 27 states. >> [music]. >> and the US government is stepping up its. screening of lettuce coming from Mexico. >> That's another thing about this. bug is that alcohol-based hand. sanitizers don't work to kill it. So you. really need soap and water and full hand. washing to get rid of it. >> Today's episode was produced by Nina. Feldman and Chris Benderav with help. from Stella Tan and Shannon Lin.

It was edited by Lisa Chow and contains. music by Marion Lozano, Diane Wong and. Dan Powell. Our theme music is by Wonderly. This episode was engineered by Chris. Wood. Special thanks to Robert Gebeloff. That's it for the daily. I'm Michael Barbaro. See tomorrow.