In Los Angeles, neighborhoods scorched by the January wildfires are facing another crisis: a shortage of immigrant workers terrified to show up for cleanup and rebuilding jobs following recent immigration raids.

Day laborers who have spent months decontaminating homes and hauling away toxic debris are staying home after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained multiple people near work sites.

"They’re living in fear," said Jose Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center, which trained about 40 immigrant workers in fire cleanup earlier this year. "They don’t know what can happen if they go to work — are they going to come back?"

The raids have rattled communities in Pasadena, Altadena and Pacific Palisades — areas where immigrant labor is vital to fire recovery. In just one month, ICE detained at least 11 people near work zones. Even some U.S. citizens and legal residents are avoiding sites for fear of being profiled.

"At a time when our communities need help healing from a natural disaster, the Trump administration is manufacturing a man-made one," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath.

Federal officials maintain they haven’t targeted active rebuilding zones. "ICE and CBP have NOT targeted any construction sites in Altadena and the Palisades," said Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. "We will continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets."

But contractors, real estate agents and day labor organizers say panic is thinning work crews just as the region needs all hands on deck to clear hazardous sites and rebuild thousands of destroyed homes.

"As long as they are around," said Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, referring to ICE agents, "workers are going to stay inside."

California’s massive rebuild after the January wildfires depends heavily on immigrant laborers — many undocumented — who make up about three-quarters of the local construction workforce. A recent analysis for the Bay Area Council found nearly half of these workers lack legal status.

This deep reliance is colliding with stepped-up federal immigration enforcement. Videos showing workers detained near job sites have gone viral, amplifying fear across Latino communities. Even documented workers like Sergio, who has DACA protection, say they feel unsafe. “It’s falling behind,” he said of the recovery timeline, adding that he worries about being profiled despite his lawful status.

Some contractors report workers hiding tools in personal cars or staggering shifts to avoid attracting attention. In Malibu, Oscar Mondragón of a local day labor center said only half the usual crews show up now, delaying projects that clear harmful smoke and ash residues from homes.

On social media, California Democrats and even some Republican lawmakers have condemned the raids, urging the federal government to focus on criminals, not workers helping rebuild devastated neighborhoods. “The recent ICE workplace raids… have led to unintended consequences that are harming the communities we represent and the businesses that employ our constituents,” six GOP state legislators wrote in June.

Yet for many workers, the choice is stark: risk detention or forgo the wages they rely on. Marco, an undocumented laborer who helped clear debris in the Palisades, says staying home for too long is no longer an option. “It’s about survival,” he said.

Residents say that without these crews, rebuilding thousands of lost homes could drag on for years, leaving entire communities stuck between the ashes and a fraught immigration crackdown.

Originally reported by Livia Albeck-Ripka and Orlando Mayorquín in NY Times.