Good morning, and we hope you had a restful Labor Day weekend! Special thanks to those who worked even on Labor Day. And a shout-out to all of the educators and other school workers getting a new year under way. 

On the theme of labor: The number of immigrant workers in the United States has gone down by 1.2 million since the enactment of new immigration policies, reports Corey Williams of the Associated Press. 

The numbers, from a Pew Research Center analysis, align with a report earlier in August from Economic Insights and Research Consulting, as EFE and Héctor Ríos Morales of the Latin Times reported. 

Immigrants make up 20% of the American workforce, according to Stephanie Kramer, a Pew senior researcher — with far higher percentages in farming, fishing, forestry and construction. And labor economist Pia Orrenius at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas notes that typically, at least half of U.S. job growth is thanks to immigrants. 

The construction industry is being hit hard, reports Ethan Duran of The Daily Reporter. Workforce shortages are the top cause of project delays and immigration enforcement has affected almost a third of construction firms, according to a recent industry workforce survey.  

In the survey, from the Associated General Contractors of America and the National Center for Construction Education and Research, 92% of firms that were hiring reported having trouble finding qualified workers. 

In California, key industries such as agriculture, construction and hospitality are threatened because of the detainment and deportation of immigrant workers, reports Kate Rogers of CNBC.  

“The lettuce, the strawberries, all the wine we drink on a daily basis, fruit juices — everything that a farmworker picks, packs, pre-harvest — they do the jobs all year round that put food on your table,” said Joe Garcia, president of the California Farmworker Association and CEO of Jaguar Labor Contracting.

In Kansas, farmer Steve Bowlin told KSHB 41’s Ryan Gamboa, "To try to produce the food we all eat is almost impossible without migrant workers."