👷 The Undocumented Labor Question: Housing Industry's Open Secret
SAHBA president dodges direct questions about immigration while advocating for "workforce" - How the American Dream is morphing into permanent tenancy for younger generations
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 4/11/25, a daily radio show in Tucson, AZ, interviewing local newsmakers.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🏡 The Buckmaster Show discussed why it's becoming more challenging to build and buy homes in Southern Arizona. 📉 A home builder representative explained that fewer houses are being constructed this year due to rising costs and affordability issues. 💰 They highlighted the scarcity of available land for development, with some companies opting to create neighborhoods where all homes are for rent instead of sale. 🏘️ The show also pointed out that our congressman is struggling to address policies that negatively impact local residents. ⚖️ Throughout the discussion, there was little mention of how this relates to the increasing heat or the fact that the land once belonged to Native American tribes before housing development. 🌞🛖
🗝️ Takeaways
🌡️ The show opened acknowledging 100-101 degree temperatures in April, highlighting accelerating climate change without connecting it to development patterns
🏘️ Southern Arizona Home Builders Association reports permits down 35% year-to-date, reflecting broader economic challenges from tariffs, land costs, and interest rates
🗺️ Only 15% of Pima County land is privately held, with nearly half already developed, yet the solution offered was "bringing state land to market" rather than questioning the colonial land ownership structure
💰 "Build for rent" subdivisions are emerging as a new housing model, creating entire neighborhoods of rental homes that look like traditional single-family houses
🧱 When directly asked about undocumented workers in construction, industry representative deflected to "E-verify compliance" while media host insisted "we all know it happens"
🏛️ Congressman Juan Ciscomani (who won with just 50% of the vote) was criticized for downplaying Trump's tariff impacts, described as being in "a terrible position" but unable to speak out for fear of primary challenges
Border Horizons: Buckmaster Show Reveals Housing Crisis
Where the desert winds carry the whispers of my ancestors, I found myself listening to the latest Buckmaster Show from April 11, 2025. The scorching reality of climate change was evident from the very beginning as host Bill Buckmaster and show producer Tom Fairbanks noted the 100-101 degree temperatures in April, not May or June as would have been normal decades ago.
The Power Players: Setting the Stage
The show featured David Godleski, president and CEO of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, with commentary from media co-host Dan Shearer, editor of Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun. Their conversation revealed the genuine struggles of the housing market while simultaneously dancing around deeper questions of land ownership, worker exploitation, and environmental justice.
"We're off to the races, 100 degrees, maybe even 101 today," Buckmaster remarked at the show's opening, mentioning a temperature that should be setting off alarms. Remember when we used to have seasons? I couldn't help but think.
Housing Industry: A Colonial Economy in Crisis
Godleski painted a picture of an industry in distress—permits are down 35% year-to-date compared to 2024, with tariffs, land costs, and interest rates creating a perfect storm of challenges.
"So far this year, we're down about 35% in terms of the permitting activity," Godleski reported, attributing this to "a confluence of broader macroeconomic issues that are affecting the buyers, still trying to deal with increased or elevated material prices, land costs, and certainly interest rates."
Behind these numbers lies the unspoken reality: we're witnessing the collapse of a system built on unchecked extraction and expansion. The market forces he describes as temporary headwinds are actually structural contradictions coming home to roost. Capitalism's chickens always find their way back to the coop, don't they?
The discussion about land scarcity revealed a telling statistic when Buckmaster pressed about the federal lands surrounding Tucson. Godleski responded, "Something like only 15% of the land in Pima County is privately held, and a substantial, probably close to half of that, is already developed."
Rather than questioning how we ended up with such concentrated land ownership or acknowledging whose ancestral territories these really are, the conversation pivoted to "bringing state land to market" – the continuing commodification of Madre Tierra that my grandparents warned against.
"If we're able to bring more land to market, get those finished lots built, that will help put us in a position where we can build more homes," Godleski asserted, using the euphemism "market" to describe what is actually a process of converting living ecosystems into commodities.
Finished lots? The audacity to call the carved-up remains of O'odham, Apache, and Mexican territory "finished" when this land sustained thousands of years of continuous habitation before colonization!
When the conversation turned to "affordable housing," I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Godleski spoke of his appointment to the Pima County Affordable Housing Commission: "I think one of the really encouraging things about the commission is that we also have representatives from the city of Tucson, from the town of Marana, from the town of Sahuarita, from the town of Oro Valley, and it is truly regional."
The discussion about the "build for rent" phenomenon was even more revealing—entire subdivisions of single-family homes being built explicitly as rental properties rather than for purchase. Godleski explained: "In markets like Phoenix, they've seen a tremendous growth of what we call build-to-rent. I think even the dynamics of buyer, the younger home buyer, are looking for flexibility."
Translation: younger generations can't afford the American Dream™ anymore, so capitalists have created a new rental market to extract wealth from them indefinitely. The lords have returned to feudalism, but with HOA fees and credit checks.
The Political Theater: Ciscomani's Balancing Act
Shearer shared insights about Congressman Juan Ciscomani's telephonic town hall, highlighting how Trump's tariff policies have placed our representative in an impossible position. With a mere "50% of the vote, 50%" electoral victory margin, as Shearer emphasized, Ciscomani lacks the backbone to criticize the former and current president's destructive economic policies that disproportionately harm border communities.
"I feel like Juan Ciscomani has been put in a terrible position by Donald Trump, but he can't come out and flat out say that," Shearer noted candidly, before adding what everyone knows but few say out loud: "Because if he were to say anything negative about Donald Trump, Donald Trump would threaten to put up a primary candidate against him."
Welcome to democracy™, where representing your constituents takes a back seat to placating the party leader's ego.
The discussion revealed Ciscomani's reluctance to address Trump's court dealings, immigration policies, and tariff impacts, particularly on retirees whose 401 (k) s are threatened. Shearer recounted how Ciscomani described the largest two-day stock market loss in history as merely "a tough weekend" – a characterization Shearer properly skewered as "like calling World War II a nasty kerfuffle."
What neither host connected, however, was how these policies continue the broader pattern of extractive economics that has defined the borderlands since 1848. The same political dynamics that allow foreign mining companies to extract copper from O'odham lands while penalizing Indigenous people for crossing their traditional territories now manifest in economic policies that protect the wealthy while devastating working communities.
The Immigration Question: Acknowledging the Unacknowledged
In perhaps the most telling exchange, Shearer directly asked Godleski about undocumented workers in construction:
"Immigration is an interesting issue right now. And we know that a lot of undocumented workers are involved in home construction. No one wants to admit it, but we all know it happens. Are you seeing any effects of this, or do people just not talk about it?"
Godleski's deflection spoke volumes: "I would push back a little bit, and we are an E-verify state. Right. And so it's certainly, we've been a proponent of immigration reform, and I think that's something that's important to make sure that we do recognize that dynamic and the importance of labor and having a robust workforce."
When pressed further by Shearer with, "But you would acknowledge that, yeah, there probably are a lot of undocumented people in the construction trades, and a lot of other fields too," Godleski retreated to plausible deniability: "You certainly can't speak to that. I'm not in an HR hiring, but I can tell you that our members follow the laws that they're required to."
This dance around the immigration question demonstrates our society's fundamental contradiction – we criminalize brown bodies while depending on their labor to build our homes, harvest our food, and care for our children. As my tía used to say, "They hate our skin but love our hands."
The hypocrisy is staggering. The same politicians promoting E-verify and border walls live in homes likely built by the very people they demonize. Meanwhile, industry representatives like Godleski must perform legal compliance while knowing full well the system depends on exploitable labor to function.
Looking Forward: The Unspoken Environmental Reckoning
Godleski mentioned energy efficiency improvements in new homes as the show wrapped up: "Most, if not all of the homes that our members are building are already more energy efficient than the code or the law requires them to be."
But there was no acknowledgment that we hit 100-101 degrees in April – a climate catastrophe accelerated by the development patterns being discussed. The colonial mindset continues to separate housing from climate, economics from ecology, in ways that threaten our collective survival.
No one asked the obvious question: How energy efficient does a home need to be to withstand 110-degree summer days that now stretch from April to October? How sustainable is a development model that requires air conditioning eight months of the year? How many more "affordable homes" can we build before we've extracted the last drop of groundwater and stand empty-handed under a merciless sun?
A Path Forward
Despite these contradictions and challenges, I find hope in our community's resilience. For millennia, the peoples of the Sonoran Desert have adapted to harsh conditions through collective action and ecological wisdom. The current housing and climate crises demand we return to these principles.
Indigenous and Chicano communities have long practiced mutual aid, communal land stewardship, and adaptive building techniques that work with rather than against the desert. Alternatives exist, from traditional adobe construction that naturally regulates temperature to contemporary earthship designs that harvest rainwater and passive solar energy.
Organizations like TOCA (Tohono O'odham Community Action) and border community land trusts are demonstrating how housing can be both culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable. Community-based housing initiatives from South Tucson to Nogales are rebuilding barrio solidarity while creating affordable housing controlled by residents rather than developers.
The path forward begins with truth-telling about how we got here – acknowledging that the current housing "market" sits atop layers of dispossession – and collective action to create the future our children deserve. It requires defending the remaining public lands from privatization while reimagining how we inhabit this beautiful but fragile desert ecosystem.
As we navigate these troubled waters, remember that another world is possible – one where homes are built for people not profit, where land is shared not hoarded, and where our relationship with the desert acknowledges both its limits and its gifts.
Get Involved
If you're ready to be part of the solution:
Support indigenous-led land defense movements and community land trusts
Attend your local planning and zoning meetings to advocate for truly affordable, environmentally sustainable housing
Join mutual aid networks providing immediate housing support while building long-term alternatives
Question the assumption that endless growth is possible or desirable in a desert ecosystem
The borderlands have always been a place of crossing, mixing, and creative resistance. Let's honor that legacy by building housing justice from the ground up.
How has the housing crisis affected your community, and what indigenous wisdom might help us create more sustainable solutions? What kinds of housing would you like to see that honor both people and the planet? Share your thoughts below.
Quotes
David Godleski on housing permits: "So far this year, we're down about 35% in terms of the permitting activity. And I think that's just a confluence of broader macroeconomic issues that are affecting the buyers..."
David Godleski on land scarcity: "Something like only 15% of the land in Pima County is privately held, and a substantial, probably close to half of that, is already developed."
Dan Shearer on Ciscomani's position: "I feel like Juan Ciscomani has been put in a terrible position by Donald Trump, but he can't come out and flat out say that."
Dan Shearer on Ciscomani's market crash characterization: "Here we have the largest two-day loss in the history of the stock market. And he said, you know, the days following that were, quote, a tough weekend. You know what? That's like calling World War II a nasty kerfuffle."
Dan Shearer directly asking about undocumented workers: "Immigration is an interesting issue right now going on. And we know that a lot of undocumented workers are involved in home construction. No one wants to admit it, but we all know it happens."
David Godleski deflecting on immigration: "I would push back a little bit, and we are an E-verify state...I can tell you that our members follow the laws that they're required to."
David Godleski on build-to-rent: "They get their three-bedroom, two-bath home, they get their backyard, but it's a rental product...that is a specific business strategy to build for rent."
People Mentioned and Quotes
Bill Buckmaster - Host of the Buckmaster Show: "We're off to the races, 100 degrees, maybe even 101 today."
Tom Fairbanks - Co-host: Mentioned briefly at the beginning of the show discussing the unseasonable heat.
David Godleski - President and CEO of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association: "We're down about 35% in terms of the permitting activity...I remain optimistic."
Dan Shearer - Editor of Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun: "I feel like Juan Ciscomani has been put in a terrible position by Donald Trump, but he can't come out and flat out say that."
Juan Ciscomani - Congressman: Not directly quoted in the transcript, but described as having "won in November with 50% of the vote" and lacking "a lot of backbone when it comes to speaking out."
Rex Scott - Pima County Supervisor: Mentioned as having appointed Godleski to the Southern Arizona Affordable Housing Committee.
Donald Trump - Current President: Referenced in discussions about tariffs and political pressure on Ciscomani.
Roberta - Caller to the show: Asked about how to get notifications for Ciscomani's town halls without internet access.
Have a scoop or a story you want us to follow up on? Send us a message!
Nicely laid out, mi tres amigos. Perspective is everything, I guess…