DEPORTATIONS“Construction Can’t Continue": South Texas Builders Say ICE Arrests Have Upended Industry
More than 300 people attended an impromptu meeting that industry leaders in the Rio Grande Valley hosted to draw attention to the chilling effect ICE arrests have had on construction.
One morning in mid-November, Mario Guerrero, the executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, was checking a group chat when a video of federal agents detaining people from a construction site popped up.
He watched the video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining workers who were pouring cement in front of a home in an idyllic neighborhood here in the Rio Grande Valley.
For nearly a year, Guerrero had seen similar videos or read news reports of arrests and raids. This was the last straw.
The raids and the specter of more to come have struck fear in construction workers, causing many to stay home. ICE agents have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas — nearly one-fifth of all such arrests in the entire state since Trump took office, according to government data provided by ICE in response to a FOIA request to the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Texas Tribune.
Without enough workers, construction has slowed, sending a ripple effect throughout the economy. Economists suggest that this will drive housing costs up — even as Texas officials focus on bringing such costs down.
Later that afternoon, Guerrero posted a video of his own on the association’s Facebook page in which he addressed the construction community, local elected officials and the public.
“I would like to start off this video by saying that I am an American citizen, and it’s crazy that we’re living in times where you actually have to state that,” Guerrero began.
He said he believed law enforcement should do their jobs, but was disturbed by the fact that ICE agents were operating without arrest warrants — which they are legally allowed to do — and detaining people who have proper authorization.
“It’s what’s happening across the Rio Grande Valley at construction sites,” he said.
He ended the video by calling on local leaders to attend a meeting later that month to discuss the ongoing challenges facing the construction industry because of ICE raids.
“It’s time that we have our leaders show up,” he said. “Our people are hurting, our businesses are hurting. There’s no labor.”
