Jim Enrique Tolbert and Javier Palomarez: America’s Manufacturing Boom Faces a Labor Bust

Factories might be coming back. But where are the workers?

This article was originally featured on Broadband Breakfast

The authors of this expert opinion are Jim Enrique Tolbert (left) and Javier Palomarez (right). Their bios are below.

In an era of escalating tariffs on electronics and semiconductors, the CHIPS and Science Act is more critical than ever to securing our economic future. Yet even as billions of dollars are committed to re-shoring semiconductor production, a fundamental challenge threatens to derail the movement. A profound lack of qualified workers.

Semiconductors are so vital because they have important implications for our national security and virtually every tech product, from laptops and phones to medical devices and satellites. Because they are the foundation of critical everyday products, tariffs have been implemented to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains from adversaries like China. While this can be essential to protecting our national security and protecting against foreign influence, we need solutions here at home to make sure the semiconductor industry can thrive. 

While President Trump’s tariffs aim to strengthen domestic manufacturing, they have led to increased costs and supply chain disruptions because of a lack of domestic manufacturing capacity. The CHIPS and Science Act provides substantial funding to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, aiming to enhance national security and economic competitiveness. Furthermore, major investments from companies like TSMC and Nvidia have been announced, signaling a shift towards domestic production. 

But turning policy into progress demands more than money. It demands people. And the U.S. must address the shortage of qualified workers through immigration reform and global talent recruitment to ensure the success of domestic manufacturing initiatives like the CHIPS Act. 

The stakes extend far beyond a few missed deadlines. A new McKinsey report on global demographic shifts warns that slowing workforce growth across advanced economies, including the United States, could severely hamper future productivity and economic strength. Adding fuel to the fire is a significant shortage of skilled workers, with estimates indicating a need for up to 300,000 additional engineers by 2030. Companies like TSMC, building massive plants in Arizona, have already reported costly delays tied directly to a lack of trained engineers and technicians. Intel, Samsung, and others have voiced similar concerns.

However, this is not a crisis beyond solving. Some key solutions include expanding visa programs for skilled foreign workers, creating clear pathways for international students to transition into the workforce, and implementing proactive global talent recruitment. 

One example is the Temporary Residence for Undocumented Migrant Professionals (T.R.U.M.P.) Visa, recently proposed by the U.S. Hispanic Business Council. This would be designed to allow working immigrants who can fill critical labor shortages to remain in, or enter, the country under strict vetting, clear employment verification and on a temporary status.

It would open the door for qualified foreign labor to legally enter the U.S. semiconductor industry, among other sectors like agriculture, construction, hospitality, manufacturing and healthcare, where the labor shortage has already become a national crisis. It represents a practical solution that balances economic needs with security and sustainability measures such as prohibiting access to government benefits, a specific tax on visa recipients and no guaranteed citizenship. 

However, visas alone are not enough to meet the demands of modern industry. Rather, they must be paired with strategic and international education, recruitment and worker retention programs.

This is evidenced in programs like those at Universidad Santander, which tackles international workforce recruitment from the ground up – upskilling immigrants who are in the US legally, recruiting highly skilled immigrant labor from around the world and providing various visa assistance services. Already these programs, through U.S.-equivalent degrees and recruitment infrastructure, have helped our nation address critical labor shortages in education, accounting, nursing, semiconductor engineering and more.

The only way to ensure that we can protect our national security and truly succeed in semiconductor production, and frankly domestic manufacturing as a whole, is by making sure we have access to qualified workers. This is a problem that requires a multifaceted solution, involving our regulators, the private sector and higher education. Only when the three work in unison will we truly reach our economic potential.

Javier Palomarez is the President & CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC), the most featured Hispanic Organization in national media. Prior to his current role, he led the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he helped raise the profile of the chamber. Palomarez is a leading voice, whose opinions have been sought after by the world’s leading media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, NBC, FOX Network, and the BBC. The son of Mexican immigrants, Mr. Palomarez was raised in south Texas, as a migrant farm worker.

Jim Tolbert has spent the bulk of his career in career education and workforce development. He is currently the US Chancellor of Unviersidad Santander.  Mr. Tolbert began his career at Morgan Stanley International and then McKinsey & Co.  He has a BS in Economics, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago. To contact, email jtolbert@unisant.us.

This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.