Undocumented workers built Florida's roads -- and died in the process

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said undocumented immigrants pose threats. But prominent state highway projects relied on them.

While most of Miami slept, two construction workers climbed into a trench in the center of a 12-lane highway.

The earth was damp from a February rainstorm the day before, making it quick to crumble. Someone should’ve noted the danger before the workers stepped inside, safety protocols say. But their employer — a company called Archer Western, paid by Florida taxpayers — failed to do so.

The men got to work removing a pipe, prying at an obstructing rock with a pick. Almost instantly, the trench collapsed — bringing with it a 30,000-pound concrete wall.

It crushed their organs and split their spines in two. They were dead before the police arrived.

Their deaths were preventable, federal regulators determined. The barrier wall should’ve been supported. The men should’ve had better training.

These failures weren’t isolated. For years, Archer Western workers died on the job at a rate experts said should have raised alarm in Tallahassee. State officials knew about at least two of the deaths, records show — and alleged in court that the company’s negligence was to blame for one of them. Even still, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state transportation agency has awarded Atlanta-based Archer Western and its partners nearly $1.6 billion in contracts, one of just a handful of firms to make that much.

https://www.tampabay.com/investigations/2025/10/24/florida-construction-archer-western-howard-frankland-desantis-immigrant/

Sad and disturbing story brought to light by the Tampa Bay Times, one of the few remaining papers that do actual investigative reporting.