Reports of federal immigration agents detaining construction workers across the state are trickling in.
Six of more than 100 people who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Tallahassee late last month were recently charged with illegal reentry into the U.S.
Construction sites are among the sites/businesses that have been targeted by ICE agents across the country. More than 600 local law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are working with ICE. Last week, city of Miami commissioners Joe Carollo, Miguel Angel Gabela and Ralph Rosado voted to enter into an agreement with ICE, according to the Miami Herald.
In Brevard County, which is north of Vero Beach and Melbourne, the local sheriff’s office is working with ICE and has arrested landscapers and construction workers, Fox 35 reported last week.
In the Florida Keys, a group of six roofers who had work authorization were picked up and transported to a detention center for deportation, NBC 6 South Florida reported.
It’s unknown how many construction workers have been detained and deported, but President Trump’s immigration policies are adding to existing pressures on the construction labor pool, which include a lack of skilled workers and a large share of workers who exited the industry during the pandemic and never returned.
The immigration crackdown will likely make construction more expensive and create additional delays, as developers are already grappling with high costs worsened by interest rates and tariffs. Larger homebuilders may be more vulnerable to unclear or unresolved immigration policies because they rely on immigrant labor, according to a study released by the National Association of Home Builders, Home Builders Institute and University of Denver. The Trump administration briefly paused raids of farms and hotels, but then resumed.
How it affects South Florida in the long term has yet to be seen.
At the city of Miami’s commission meeting, Miami resident Marquis Duncan called the vote on the ICE agreement a “cultural betrayal.”
“Don’t pretend that this is still the Magic City. … Strip it bare. No more cafecito windows. Shut down Versailles. Pull the roosters out of Little Havana,” he said, according to the Herald. “Erase the Cuban walk on 13th Street. Tear down the Cuban monuments you just restored. Knock down the Freedom Tower.”
What we’re thinking about: How will the state’s elimination of the business rent tax (see below) affect the commercial market? Send me a note at [email protected].
CLOSING TIME
Residential: Oren Alexander, who is in jail awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges, and his wife Kamila Hansen Alexander sold their waterfront Miami Beach mansion at 2135 Lake Avenue for $51.5 million. A trust named after the address and managed by attorney Steven Z. Garellek purchased the Sunset Islands property.
Commercial: Woodfield Development sold the 223-unit apartment tower at 345 Banyan Boulevard in downtown West Palm Beach for $87 million. Woodfield Development and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company sold the 15-story tower. The buyer borrowed a $57.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the purchase.
NEW TO THE MARKET
Former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Alex Guerrero listed the spec home at 3100 North Bay Road in Miami Beach for $75 million. He purchased the half-acre waterfront site only two years ago for $13.6 million. The planned 10,250-square-foot, seven-bedroom home will have two indoor kitchens, one outdoor kitchen, an infinity-edge pool, a dock, a hot tub and an 18-car garage with a waterfall at the entrance, triggered by sensors to stop when cars approach. It’s on the market with Douglas Elliman’s Lourdes Alatriste.
A thing we’ve learned
Eleven cities across South Florida are celebrating their centennials in 2025 and 2026, including Deerfield Beach, according to WLRN’s deep dive into Deerfield. When the town was beginning to be developed, an acre of land could sell for $50, then for $200 and then resell again a week later for $600. Sound familiar?
Elsewhere in Florida
- Property insurer Trusted Resource Underwriters Exchange asked state regulators to hike rates by 31 percent for its multi-peril homeowners’ insurance. The proposed rate increase is so high it required a hearing before the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. TRUE, one of the most expensive insurers in Florida, is the first to ask for such a big rate hike this year, the Palm Beach Post reports.
- The Florida Legislature voted to eliminate the business rent tax, which will eliminate about $905 million in general revenue for the state, Florida Politics reports. Florida was the only state in the country that collected this tax.
- A group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski is in talks with the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays to buy the baseball team, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Other investors in the potential purchase include Bill Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage.
