Business
Undocumented Workers, Fearing Deportation, Are Staying Home
The railroad tracks that slice through downtown Freehold, N.J., used to be lined by dozens of men, waiting for work. Each morning, the men — day laborers, almost all from Latin America and undocumented — would be scooped up by local contractors in pickup trucks for jobs painting, landscaping, removing debris.
In recent weeks, the tracks have been desolate. On a gray February morning, a laborer named Mario, who came from Mexico two decades ago, said it was the quietest he could remember.
“Because of the president, we have a fear,” said Mario, 55, who agreed to be interviewed on the condition that only his first name would be used because he is undocumented. His two sons are also in the United States illegally; one works in paving, the other in home construction. “We are in difficult times,” he said.
This scene has been playing out on the streets of Freehold, on the farms of California’s Central Valley, in nursing homes in Arizona, in Georgia poultry plants and in Chicago restaurants.
President Trump has broadcast plans for a “mass deportation,” and the opening weeks of his second term have brought immigration enforcement operations in cities across the United States, providing a daily drumbeat of arrests that, while so far relatively limited, are quickly noted in group chats among migrants.
Fear has gripped America’s undocumented workers. Many are staying home.
The impact is being felt not only in immigrant homes and communities, but also in the industries that rely on immigrants as a source of willing and inexpensive labor, including residential construction, agriculture, senior care and hospitality. American consumers will soon feel the pain.
“Businesses across industries know what comes next when their work force disappears — restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores struggling to stay open, food prices soaring, and everyday Americans demanding action,” said Rebecca Shi, chief executive of the American Business Immigration Coalition.
An estimated 20 percent of the U.S. labor force is foreign born, and millions of immigrant workers lack legal immigration status.
Hundreds of thousands more have been shielded from deportation and have work permits under a program called temporary protected status, offered to nationals of countries in upheaval, which has enabled corporate giants like Amazon and large commercial builders to hire them. But Mr. Trump has already announced that he will phase out the program, starting with Venezuelan and Haitian beneficiaries.
Refugees from around the globe, who have settled in the United States after fleeing persecution, have supplied a steady pipeline of low-skilled labor for poultry plants, warehouses and manufacturing. But that pipeline could dry up since Mr. Trump shut down the U.S. refugee program. Last month, a federal judge restored it temporarily while a lawsuit is pending, but the program remains at a standstill and no refugees are arriving.
The White House did not respond to questions about the strategy of deportations and how the Trump administration envisions filling the gaps left behind by the immigrant work force.
Leaders of industries that are the most exposed warn that the impact will be widespread, with far-reaching consequences for consumers and employers.
Kezia Scales, vice president at PHI, a national research and advocacy organization focused on long-term care for older adults and people with disabilities, said her industry was already facing a “recruitment crisis.”
“If immigrants are prevented from entering this work force or are forced to leave the country by restrictive immigration policies and rhetoric,” she said, “we will face systems collapse and catastrophic consequences for millions of people who rely on these workers.”
Warning of Higher Costs
In construction, up to 19 percent of all workers are undocumented, according to independent estimates — and the share is higher in many states. Their contribution is even more pronounced in residential construction, where industry leaders have warned of an acute labor shortage.
“Any removals of construction workers is going to exacerbate that problem,” said Nik Theodore, a professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago. “Inevitably, it will slow the work, which leads to cost increases, because of the production delays.” This would have a profound impact on the construction industry and everybody involved, from developers to private homeowners, Mr. Theodore said.
In commercial construction, a tightening labor market would raise costs because of upward pressure on wages, said Zack Fritz, an economist with Associated Builders and Contractors, a national construction trade association.
The group’s chief executive, Michael D. Bellaman, said he welcomed many aspects of what he deemed Mr. Trump’s “deregulation, pro-growth agenda.” But he and others in the industry also called for an overhaul of the immigration system, including by expanding work visas.
Commercial building relies on many workers with temporary protected status, Mr. Bellaman said; some have been in the industry for decades.
The mayor of Houston, John Whitmire, said people who think his city and the country can thrive without the labor of undocumented immigrants “don’t live in the real world.”
“You know who’s paving our roads and building our houses,” said Mr. Whitmire, a Democrat.
Challenges in Elder Care
The senior care industry faces a similar challenge: growing demand for workers, and not enough native-born Americans to do the work. Those jobs have increasingly been filled by immigrants with varying legal statuses.
Adam Lampert has spent 15 years in the industry in Texas, mainly managing care for the parents of baby boomers. The business is thriving — and a silver tsunami is on the horizon, he warns: The number of adults 65 or older in the United States totaled 60 million in 2022, and is projected to exceed 80 million by 2050.
“Baby boomers are yet to wash through the system, and they will be a full new generation we will have to address,” said Mr. Lampert, the chief executive of Manchester Care Homes and Cambridge Caregivers, based in Dallas.
Some 80 percent of his caregivers are foreign born. “We don’t go out looking for people who are immigrants,” he said. “We go out hiring people who answer the call — and they are all immigrants.”
Everyone he hires has permission to lawfully work in the United States, he said, but if the mass deportations promised by Mr. Trump materialize, recruitment will become tougher in an industry already struggling with it.
There are five million people working directly with clients in what is considered the formal senior care industry, made up of those who can legally hold jobs in the United States.
In New York, two-thirds of those working in homes are foreign-born, as are nearly half in California and Maryland. Countless others take part in the vast gray market, potentially worth billions of dollars, employed by families who hire in-home aides, many of them undocumented, by word of mouth or online.
The caregivers in private homes support seniors with essential activities of daily life, helping them eat, dress, bathe and use the toilet. They escort them to doctors’ appointments and manage their medications. It is low-skill, low-pay work, but requires a certain temperament, physical strength and patience.
If tens of thousands of undocumented caregivers were deported, there would be more competition for fewer caregivers, experts say. The cost of in-home care would climb.
Often green card holders and U.S. citizens have undocumented family members, and these mixed-status families have been under strain as immigration crackdowns have intensified.
Molly Johnson, general manager of FirstLight Home Care, a licensed agency in California, has rapidly expanded her roster of caregivers to meet galloping demand since starting the business five years ago. All her workers have passed background checks, she said, and are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
But recently, one of the standout caregivers, a native-born American, suddenly quit because her mother was detained by immigration agents. The person she cared for was distraught.
“Unfortunately, we are going to be seeing more of this trickle-down effect,” Ms. Johnson said. “If it’s not our caregiver, it’s their loved one impacted by enforcement actions.”
A Test for Growers
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the immigrant men and women employed at Deardorff Family Farms in Oxnard, Calif. — and across the country, in vast fields and food processing plants — were anointed “essential workers” by the government.
Like other growers, Tom Deardorff, who runs the vegetable farm, printed cards for his workers to show law enforcement officers, in case they were stopped on their way to the fields, declaring that the Department of Homeland Security considered them “critical to the food supply chain.” Their immigration status was not of concern.
“These people have come into our country to do this work,” said Mr. Deardorff, a fourth-generation grower. “We owe them not just ‘thank you.’ We owe them the common decency and dignity to not be threatened by government draconian penalties.”
Now, with Mr. Trump in the White House, many immigrants who harvest strawberries, vegetables and citrus in this agriculture-rich stretch of Southern California face possible detention and deportation.
The U.S. farming sector has suffered a labor shortage for decades. Immigrants, mainly from Mexico and Central America, have filled the void: Farmers say they cannot find American-born laborers to do the strenuous work. More than 40 percent of the nation’s crop workers are immigrants without legal status, according to estimates by the Department of Agriculture, yet many have lived in the United States for decades.
“The argument that some have made, from time immemorial, is that people will do these jobs if all the immigrants leave,” said Janice Fine, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University. “But there is no guarantee that employers will raise wages or improve working conditions.”
She said there had been a “misunderstanding of the labor market.” The reason American citizens aren’t in the agriculture sector — or elder care, or residential construction — isn’t solely about money, she said. These jobs, she said, “are low-wage, low-status, high-exploitation unless workers organize unions.”
A three-day crackdown in California’s Central Valley in January, before Mr. Trump took office, showed the potential effects of large-scale enforcement in farming areas. Absenteeism soared after Border Patrol agents conducted sweeps in Bakersfield. They stopped and arrested people at a Home Depot, at gas stations and along a heavily trafficked route to farms, according to the Nisei Farmers League, a grower association.
Some 30 to 40 percent of workers failed to report to the fields in the days that followed, according to the league, which represents about 500 growers and packers.
Gregory K. Bovino, a Border Patrol chief in Southern California, called the operation an “overwhelming success” that resulted in the arrests of 78 people in the country illegally, including some with “serious criminal histories.” Farmworker advocates said many others without criminal records had been rounded up, too.
Bracing for More Raids
Migrants and advocacy organizations are bracing for more raids.
In Princeton, N.J., one rainy February evening, around a dozen day laborers gathered for a meeting with Resistencia en Acción, a New Jersey group focused on immigrant workers, part of a sprawling organization called the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.
The workers had different immigration statuses — some had temporary protected status or other forms of protection; others were undocumented. They worked as drivers and pavers, in restaurants and in mechanic shops. One man, who worked in a window factory, said he was terrified that federal agents would come to his workplace, where dozens of other Latin American immigrants toiled. Others said they had been working fewer hours in recent weeks, out of fear.
One man, who said he worked chopping fish, fruits and vegetables for a small grocery store, wondered aloud: “What white person is going to do these jobs?”
Struggling with a plummeting stock price and a decline in revenues, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. named a new CEO Monday, weeks after company officials suggested they would sell more underperforming theme parks.
Six Flags announced John Reilly, a veteran theme park operator, as its new president and CEO. He had served as an interim CEO and chief operating officer at SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in the past.
Reilly is taking the reins of the struggling Charlotte, N.C.-based company that operates Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.
“He’s got his work cut out for him,” said Martin Lewison, associate professor of business management for Farmingdale State College in New York, who is also a Six Flags shareholder.
Since its merger with Cedar Fair Entertainment Company last year, Six Flags has upset some parkgoers with its cost-cutting efforts, including moving to a regional management model where park presidents at Knott’s Berry Farm and Magic Mountain were laid off. At some parks, live entertainment was reduced or mostly canceled, and some seasonal events did not return this year, such as WinterFest and Tricks and Treats at California’s Great America in Santa Clara.
Lewison said his own experience has been spotty at Six Flags parks, and two issues the company will need to address are how it wants to brand itself, and whether it wants its theme parks to be family-oriented or thrill-oriented.
“The company is just sort of a mishmash of a brand right now,” Lewison said.
While the holidays can be a big driver of traffic to Southern California theme parks like Disneyland, Six Flags’ regional parks have experienced some challenges, Lewison said.
At Six Flags, revenues and earnings were down in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, and there were fewer visitors in October compared to the same month in 2024. Executives earlier this month suggested they’re taking a stronger look at closing and selling off more of its underperforming theme parks.
In an earnings call earlier this month, Brian Witherow, chief financial officer for Six Flags, said certain parks that represent 70% of the company’s earnings are outperforming, while its other parks are struggling.
Witherow said the company had invested more money in maintenance to improve the guest experience at the underperforming parks, “but did not yet achieve the commensurate uplift in profits we were targeting.”
In a pair of examples, Witherow cited a “historically well-maintained” theme park “with a loyal customer base,” where the company was able to “minimize costs without impacting consumer demand or the guest experience,” and earnings grew 14%. Then, he cited an underperforming park, where, despite significant spending to address deferred investment needs, earnings fell significantly.
“Going forward, we intend to be more nimble and strategic in allocating investment dollars, focusing only on our highest potential underperforming parks and the strongest opportunities to deliver near-term returns,” Witherow said. He declined to list which parks were underperforming.
Witherow said it’s a priority for Six Flags to narrow its focus “and shrink our capital needs.”
“We’re going to look at the parks where our returns are the greatest, where the opportunities for growth are the highest, and we’re going to focus on those parks. The other parks we’ll look to monetize and use those proceeds to reduce debt,” Witherow said.
In the third quarter, Six Flags’ underperforming parks saw attendance decline 5%, Witherow said.
The company this month permanently shuttered its Six Flags America theme park and Hurricane Harbor water park in Bowie, Md., and will put up the land for sale. In Northern California, California’s Great America is set to close in the coming years, with its final season either in 2027 or in 2032, depending on whether the company exercises an option to extend its lease by an additional five years.
Could Six Flags be considering selling either of its parks in Southern California? Not at this time, Witherow suggested.
Some of Six Flags’ parks that have high property values are in Southern California, as well as Toronto, but those are parks that “are critical to the long-term growth of the business,” Witherow said. A sale of those properties, “I think from that perspective, would not be something, at least where we sit today, that we would be interested in pursuing.”
Reilly succeeds Richard A. Zimmerman, who announced his plans in August to step down as Six Flags’ president and CEO and will leave the board on Dec. 8.
Reilly will join the company at a time when it is facing pressure from activist investors like New York-based Jana Partners to improve its operations. Last month, NFL football player Travis Kelce joined an investment coalition — which includes Jana Partners — that owns about 9% of Six Flags.
Jana has said it plans to engage with Six Flags’ board and management team to improve the company’s marketing strategy and operations, accelerate technology modernization, assess its leadership and evaluate potential acquisitions.
Zimmerman, in the earnings call, said the company has an “ongoing constructive engagement” with the investment group led by Jana Partners, which includes Kelce. He said following the announcement of the group’s interest in Six Flags, there was a surge of consumer interest, a reaction that “reinforces our confidence that Six Flags is as exciting and relevant as ever.”
“Travis Kelce, influencers of that ilk, have tremendous followings,” Zimmerman said. “Travis Kelce is somebody that’s come to our parks in many of our locations and has an affinity for them. We are going to work very closely with him and his team to make sure that we optimize that opportunity.”
For the third quarter, net revenues were $1.32 billion, down $31 million, or 2% compared with the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $555 million, down by $3 million.
That came despite attendance totaling 21.1 million guests, up 1%. One warning sign was a decline in how much guests were spending inside the theme parks, with more season pass holders visiting but fewer single-day visitors.
There were more warning signs in October. For the five-week period that ended Nov. 2, there were 5.8 million guests, down 11% compared to the same five-week period last year.
Six Flags shares closed Monday at $14.44, up 7%. Its 52-week high was $49.77.
Greystar, which manages dozens of apartment complexes in Southern California, has settled a lawsuit that alleges the property giant and other landlords colluded to keep rents artificially high.
The national apartment landlord and manager was a defendant in an ongoing suit filed last year by the U.S. Department of Justice that focuses on software from RealPage that is used by many apartment operators to set rent prices for vacant units and renewal rates for existing tenants.
The lawsuit alleges Greystar and other landlords were illegally using RealPage to share proprietary data so they could align their prices and drive up rents.
Last week, Greystar agreed to stop using software offered by any company, including RealPage, that uses competitively sensitive information to align rent prices, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said. Greystar also agreed to cooperate in the ongoing prosecution of RealPage and other defendant landlords.
“Whether it’s through smoke-filled backroom deals or through an algorithm on your computer screen, colluding to drive up prices is illegal,” Bonta said.
Greystar, which is based in Charleston, S.C., manages about 333 multifamily rental properties in California that use RealPage’s pricing software, the attorney general said.
The company has agreed to pay $7 million in penalties and fees to nine states, including California.
“We are pleased this matter is resolved and remain focused on serving our residents and clients.” Greystar spokesman Garrett Derderian said.
In a competitive market, authorities said, property owners would be forced to compete with each other, helping to drive down rental costs for Americans. But RealPage was used to avoid some of that competition, the lawsuit said.
The suit said competing landlords shared nonpublic information — such as occupancy and rents on executed leases — with RealPage, which then used that data to recommend rents at individual properties.
The company previously called similar allegations false and misleading, saying clients can decline its recommendations, which at times includes suggestions to drop rental rates.
But in its complaint, the Justice Department pointed to instances where RealPage described its software as a tool for maximizing rent and outperforming the market. Authorities also alleged the company made it more difficult for landlords to reject its recommendations than accept them.
“There is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down,” a RealPage executive said, according to the lawsuit.
At another point, RealPage described its tools as ensuring landlords are “driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions,” the complaint says.
Without competitive pressure, landlords have no incentive to decrease prices or offer discounts common in rental markets, like a free month or waived fees, the attorney general said.
The settlement is a “big deal” for renters, said K Agbebiyi of the nonprofit Private Equity Stakeholder Project.
“Greystar is essentially not allowed to use the rental price setting component of RealPage,” they said. “That places doubt about the long-term stability of RealPage, when the largest landlord in the country is banned from using them.”
Greystar manages nearly 1 million apartments in the U.S., according to real estate data provider CoStar. It is one of the country’s largest apartment managers.
Other large apartment managers named in the suit include Camden, Cushman & Wakefield/Pinnacle, LivCor and Willow Bridge.
Times staff writer Andrew Khouri contributed to this report
Elphaba and Glinda have changed the box office, at least for this weekend.
“Wicked: For Good” — the conclusion to Universal Pictures’ two-part film franchise — hauled in an estimated $150 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, marking the second-highest domestic opening this year, trailing only blockbuster hit “A Minecraft Movie.” Globally, the film grossed about $226 million.
The opening weekend audience for “Wicked: For Good” skewed even more female (69%) than the first film, which counted 61% of its viewers as women, according to data from EntTelligence.
Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” came in a distant second at the domestic box office with $9.1 million. The third installment of the illusionist franchise has now brought in a cumulative $36.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and a total of $146.2 million globally across its two weekends.
Disney’s 20th Century Studios’ “Predator: Badlands,” Paramount Pictures’ “The Running Man” and “Rental Family” from Searchlight Pictures rounded out this weekend’s top five.
The Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led film was bolstered by a massive marketing push that began early last year before the first “Wicked” movie debuted. Though the films are based on the hit Broadway play, Universal wanted to expand awareness of the story to markets that had been less exposed to the theatrical show.
As a result, the franchise has partnered with more than 100 brands, including toy companies like Lego and Mattel as well as more unexpected firms such as household goods giant P&G and online Asian supermarket Weee!, where director Jon M. Chu serves as chief creative officer.
The film’s opening weekend success also points to a demand for female-focused franchises.
After 2023’s “Barbie” grossed $1.4 billion at the global box office, there were countless calls for more films geared toward women. But this year, many of the big-budget movies were male-leaning, and the narrower returns at the box office have prompted questions about whether films were reaching all possible demographics.
“Women continue to be a really underserved audience,” said Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of the website Box Office Theory. “In terms of large blockbusters, it’s been a minute since there’s been a female-skewing movie on the scale of ‘Wicked’ or ‘Lilo & Stitch.’”
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