Immigrants / Parachute Industry

Last week there was an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) titled “Only Two Companies Make Parachutes for U.S. Troops, Deportations Would Crush One.”

The article goes on to describe Mills Manufacturing of Asheville, N.C. as the company that would be seriously hurt if “Temporary Protective Status(TPS)” for certain immigrants was terminated. Approximately 25% of their work force is here in the United States, working under that provision.

The article doesn’t discuss the number of employees at Mills, but ZAPPA Info indicates that the workforce is approximately 100 and annual revenue for Mills is approximately $6.8 million.

Mills’ website indicates that they have 150 employees, 800 sewing machines and 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The WSJ article indicates that 1/3 of their workforce is Latino and 1/3 from Eastern Europe. Four languages are spoken by their employees – English, Spanish, Moldovan and Russian. The majority of their TPS workers are from Ukraine and Nicaragua.

Asheville has a large Latino and Ukrainian population, thus the workforce at Mills.

Mills is one of the principal manufacturers of military parachutes in the U.S. today. Obviously, if those workers here under TPS were to be deported, there would be serious repercussions in Mills’ ability to meet their contractual requirements with the U.S. Military.

What is TPS? The National Immigration Foundations states “ (TPS) is a government protection, granted by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eligible foreign-born individuals who are unable to return home safely, due to conditions or circumstances preventing their country from adequately handling the return.”

The Foundation goes on to state that a country can be designated for TPS if there is an ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic or other extraordinary situation.

To be granted TPS, an individual has to file for status during a specified period, and has to have been present in the U.S. since a particular date. A person granted TPS cannot be deported, are eligible to work, and eligible to travel.

There are currently over 860,000 individuals to whom TPS has been granted. The major countries are Venezuela (344,335), Haiti (200,005), El Salvador (180,375), Honduras (54,290) and Ukraine (50,205).

The Secretary of Homeland Security can terminate TPS, and in February 2025 she did, for those from Venezuela under their 2023 designation. The Supreme Court has confirmed the action of the Secretary of DHS. The Secretary is continuing to review and terminate TPS from other countries.

The largest number of TPS holders live in Florida (295,720) and Texas (93,680).

In the 1970’s there were four main parachute manufacturers, Mills, Irvin Industries, Pioneer and ILC Steinthal. Today there are Mills and the TransDigm Group.

Irvin was sold a number times to Private Equity Groups and finally in 2013 to TransDigm Group, A large trans- national organization with annual revenue of over $7.9 billion.

Pioneer went into bankruptcy in 2023 and was sold to Space X for $2.2 million.

Today, another parachute manufacturer is Butler Parachutes/North American Aerodynamics Inc. Both are small operations, controlled by the same management and investors. Butler is based in Roanoke, Va. and Zoom Info says that they have 65 sewing machines, 21,000 sf. of space and revenues of $8.7 million.

The Aerodynamics business is based in Roxboro, N.C. and Zoom indicates that their revenue is between $1 to $5 million, and that they have 11 to 20 employees, and 400 sewing machine. I would question how they could have 400 sewing machines and only 11-20 employees.

Why did this article have an impact on me? In the 1970’s I was President of ILC Steinthal, a parachute manufacturer located in Roxboro, N.C.

The Parachute Industry has always been a fragile industry. There isn’t enough volume from the military to provide significant competition and adequate volume to all. Therefore, all of those who have been involved in this industry have had difficulties. Mills is the only company that is still independently owned by the founding family. It is not large, but it provides the military with a critical base for parachutes.

As many would say, if Mills loses 2/3 of their employment force, that is only the “tip of the spear.” The hospitality industry is said to employ many TPS workers, among others.

The National Immigration Foundation estimates that in 2017, TPS holders from just El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti contributed $4.5 billion in pre-tax wages and salary to our economy. It is also estimated that over a ten year period, their contributions to Social Security and Medicare will amount to over $6.9 billion. That is in addition to the income taxes that they pay to the Federal Government as well as the various states where they reside.

It is also estimated that over 94% of TPS individuals are in the labor force.

Based upon that, these folks are obviously contributing in a positive manner to our economy. What will happen if they are forced to return to their home countries? It will certainly be a disaster for our economy.

What is wrong with our current representatives in Congress? What is wrong with the current administration? Their view of economics make no sense. What will it take to change this craziness?

Jess Sweely

Madison, Va.

June 3, 2025