“On Monday (May 1, the day of a one-day job walk-out by immigrant workers across the nation), our job sites were like ghost towns. No one showed up. This issue is hugely important to us, and we’ve been aware of that for years … As a matter of fact, if the government thinks it’s only 12 million people, they’re way off. It’s probably closer to 40 million, and we need them.” —Stephen Brooks, CEO, Grand Homes
“This issue is critical to home builders on two levels. One is labor, and while K Hovnanian doesn’t hire immigrants who are in the United States illegally as contractors, at the subcontractor level, we just don’t know. The other is a very important customer base of future home buyers. The trend is that within seven or eight years of residence, many immigrants are ready to move in to homeownership.” —Larry Sorsby, executive vice president, CFO, and director, Hovnanian Enterprises
“Read the proposed legislation now. The McCain-Kennedy Senate bill is reasonable, but if the House proposal moves forward, it would have catastrophic implications for our industry.” —David Hill, chairman and CEO, Kimball Hill Homes
