Perhaps the most surprising thing about the controversial Super Bowl TV advertisement that showed an immigrant family encountering a border wall is that the company behind it denies it was about immigration at all. But that company, 84 Lumber, and its customers have a strong interest in how the new Trump administration and Congress address immigration. 84 Lumber provides building materials to developers, but also farms out subcontractors, who do construction work for those home builders. Immigrants make up more than a third of all painters, roofers, brick masons, and carpet and floor installers in the country, according to the National Assn. “That will affect the residential home building market, workers will become increasingly scarce and there will be pressure to raise wages.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 06, 2017 23:26 UTC