Construction leaders in South Texas say stepped-up immigration enforcement is pushing workers off job sites and into hiding, slowing projects and threatening to raise housing costs, according to reporting by The Texas Tribune.
Mario Guerrero, executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, told the news site that fear has spread quickly after videos circulated this fall showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining workers at construction sites in the Rio Grande Valley.
ICE has arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas since President Donald Trump took office, nearly one-fifth of all such arrests statewide, based on ICE data obtained through a public records request and reported by The Texas Tribune.
Guerrero said many workers now stay home, even those with authorization, leaving contractors short-staffed. "Our people are hurting, our businesses are hurting. There's no labor," he said in a video posted to the association's Facebook page, calling on local officials to address the issue.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas data show construction employment in the region fell about 5% in the third quarter, the largest drop among major sectors and builders and suppliers say the slowdown is rippling outward. Ronnie Cavazos, the association's board president, told a November meeting of industry leaders that business is "down significantly" and warned that continued raids could force companies to close.
Workers themselves report sharp income losses, as the outled reports. A 42-year-old construction worker who asked to be identified only as Jesus said he now earns about 60% less than before the raids began. "We're afraid to go out into the street," he said. "The government controls these things."
Economists note the pattern is not new. Research on the Obama-era Secure Communities program found deportations reduced construction labor by 2% to 3% nationally and new home construction by nearly 6%, contributing to higher prices. "Given the current pace of deportations, it is reasonable to expect that shortages in construction labor and housing will become more severe," said Dayin Zhang, an assistant professor at the Wisconsin School of Business.
Similar concerns are emerging nationwide. A recent analysis cited by CNBC found that in California, where more than 60% of construction workers are foreign-born and about a quarter are undocumented, continued removals could significantly slow building activity and cut billions from the state's economy.
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