Home Depot to Train 20K Veterans, Young Americans for Construction Jobs in Trump’s Tight Labor Market

President Donald Trump’s tight labor market — through efforts like stricter interior immigration enforcement — is leading to corporations investing in construction jobs for U.S. veterans and young Americans, rather than relying on cheap, illegal alien workers.

An exclusive report by USA Today reveals that Home Depot is planning to invest $50 million in training 20,000 American veterans and soldiers, young people, and disadvantaged youth for construction work as the industry has tightened in Trump’s era of economic nationalism.

The corporation is looking to train a new generation of Americans for the construction industry as a series of events have slowed employment in the industry, including Baby Boomers retiring, workers leaving the industry for other trade industries, and the unavailability of illegal alien workers.

Pro-American immigration reformers, who want to see less overall immigration to the U.S. to boost the wages and quality of life of America’s working and middle class, say the Home Depot announcement is the result of the labor market not being flooded with foreign workers.

For instance, the construction industry has the largest share of illegal alien workers, according to Pew Research. There is a likelihood, though not quantified, that the high employment of illegal aliens in the construction industry has fallen as Trump’s stricter immigration enforcement has led to increased wages in the industry and more competition for companies to retain and hire workers.

This year, for example, 14 illegal alien construction workers were arrested and detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the Boston, Massachusettes, area.

Home builders over the last year have repeatedly complained of not having their usual continued flow of illegal alien workers to shuffle around the construction industry.

In California, specifically, wages in the construction industry have been kept down by a flood of illegal and legal immigrants taking to the industry, not giving companies an incentive to raise pay.