Immigration and Healthy Communities

Finally, Latino workers play a crucial role in California’s economy, making up 39% of the state’s workforce, and one-third of this population is immigrants. These workers are heavily represented in sectors such as agriculture, construction, general maintenance, and food preparation.

The construction sector is a notable example: Immigrants comprise 41% of California’s construction workers and 50% of the state’s craftspeople. With California aiming to build 2.5 million homes by 2032, immigration policies are likely to have significant implications for the state’s ability to address its housing shortages. In 2025, 62% of construction firms reported difficulty filling hourly craft worker positions. Immigration enforcement is one reason that construction firms report difficulty in finding workers, especially those with specific skillsets. 

California is taking steps to support immigrant communities. During COVID-19, state government agencies recognized that traditional approaches to workplace health and safety education often failed to reach vulnerable populations, including the state’s immigrants. The COVID-19 Workplace Outreach Program (CWOP) distributed funding to community-based organizations who could serve as “trusted messengers,” reaching workers who experience significant barriers to accessing information due to language access, fear of retaliation, or concerns about immigration enforcement.

Between 2023 and 2024, the program (now called the California Workplace Outreach Program) provided more than $25 million to 76 community-based organizations across six regions of California, focusing on high-risk industries such as agriculture, food processing, warehousing, and janitorial services: covering a combined total of 2.5 million California workers. Through these community-based trusted messengers, California  recorded roughly 5 million touchpoints with workers across the state, including about 830,000 in-depth interactions focused on workplace rights and protections.