How ICE crackdowns are affecting the workforce

By Darian Woods,

Adrian Ma, Corey Bridges, Julia Ritchey, Kate Concannon

Published July 3, 2025 at 11:31 AM EDT

The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants might be the most profound change in the American labor market right now. Industries that rely on immigrant labor are especially vulnerable, as ICE continues to raid businesses believed to have unauthorized workers.

Today on the show, we talk to representatives from the agriculture, construction and long-term care industries to ask: Are people still showing up to work?

Related episodes:

What's missing in the immigration debate

Is the 'border crisis' actually a 'labor market crisis?'

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Translation help by Ella Feldman. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Darian Woods

Darian Woods is a reporter and producer for The Indicator from Planet Money. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. He's reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, vaccine intellectual property explained through cake baking, and how Kit Kat bars reveal hidden economic forces.

See stories by Darian Woods

Adrian Ma

Adrian Ma covers work, money and other "business-ish" for NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator from Planet Money.

Corey Bridges

Corey Bridges is an assistant producer at NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. Bridges enjoys covering stories ranging from public policy to the economics of sports. At The Indicator, he has worked on stories about how certain environmental regulations can impede climate progress and others about how college athletes are taking advantage of their name, image and likeness.

Julia Ritchey

Julia Ritchey is an audio journalist with 15 years experience reporting, editing and podcasting all over the country. She's reported from eight states and all four U.S. time zones, most recently at Nashville Public Radio, Tennessee's largest NPR affiliate, overseeing the station's policy, environmental and education beats.

Kate Concannon

Kate Concannon is the Supervising Senior Editor at The Indicator from Planet Money. She leads this small, collaborative team of hosts, reporters and producers in making sense of crucial, but often complex and confusing, economic news in just 10 minutes a day.