South Texas homebuilders say ICE arrests have slowed work

McALLEN — One morning in mid-November, Mario Guerrero, executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, was watching a group chat when a video appeared of federal agents arresting people at a construction site.

He watched video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting workers who were pouring cement in front of a home in an idyllic Rio Grande Valley neighborhood.

For nearly a year, Guerrero had seen similar videos or read reports of arrests and searches. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The raids and the specter of more to come have spread fear among construction workers, forcing many to stay home. ICE agents have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas, nearly a fifth of all such arrests statewide 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 slowed, impacting the entire economy. Economists suggest this will drive up housing costs — even as Texas officials work to reduce those costs.

Later that afternoon, Guerrero posted his own video on the association’s Facebook page in which he addressed the construction community, local elected officials and the public.

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“I would like to start this video by saying that I am an American citizen, and it’s crazy that we live in a time where you actually have to declare it,” Guerrero began.

He said he thought law enforcement should do their job, but was troubled that ICE agents were operating without arrest warrants — which they are legally allowed to do — and were detaining people with proper authorization.

“This is what’s happening in the Rio Grande Valley on construction sites,” he said.

He ended the video by calling on local leaders to attend a meeting later in the month to discuss the current challenges facing the construction industry due to ICE raids.

“It’s time for our leaders to come forward,” he said. “Our people are suffering, our businesses are suffering. There is no workforce.”

Guerrero’s frankness about how the construction industry is suffering following ICE raids has caught the attention of the Rio Grande Valley community. For months, residents have openly assumed that the construction industry was being negatively impacted, but have yet to hear anyone in the industry officially acknowledge this. Data from the Dallas Federal Reserve shows a 5% drop in construction jobs in the third quarter of this year, the largest job decline in the region.

ICE did not respond to an interview request or a list of questions sent by the Texas Tribune.

With his comments, Guerrero opened the door for others to speak openly about it, attracting the attention of state and federal officials.

“Construction cannot continue”

When the day of the meeting arrived, more than 380 people filled the room at the Brookhaven Event Center in Pharr. It was filled with people working in almost every facet of construction and development, including concrete, lumber, real estate and lending. A handful of elected officials were also present.

During the roughly hour and a half that they met, these industry representatives took turns discussing the blows their companies had taken because workers were too afraid of ICE showing up at construction sites. They also warned of how the Rio Grande Valley economy would suffer if ICE arrests did not stop.

“Business is down significantly,” Ronnie Cavazos, board president of the South Texas Builders Association, told the crowd. “If we continue on this trajectory, we will see many businesses fail. »

Isaac Smith, co-owner of Matt’s Building Materials, said his family’s stores are having trouble moving lumber.

“If the construction sites are attacked, at any level, construction cannot continue,” Smith told the Tribune. “It’s not a fun situation to be in.”

Smith said his sales have seen a double-digit decline rate since ICE began operations. He also saw an increase in late payments from customers with the store’s line of credit.

“It has a negative effect on our cash flow and how we operate, how we manage expenses, and money coming in and money going out,” Smith said.

“We would like it to stop”

At the Nov. 17 meeting, Cavazos took a moment to draw attention to those directly affected by the raids: workers.

“Let me tell you about immigrants in this country. No one believes in the American dream more than they do,” Cavazos said in his speech. The immigrant should be celebrated, treated with dignity and allowed to work and provide for their family.

Every few days, videos of ICE operations attract widespread attention. Jesus, a 42-year-old construction worker who asked that his last name not be used because he and his wife are undocumented, said he and his co-workers monitor ICE while they are at work — if they go to work at all.

Jesus drastically reduced the number of jobs he held, just enough to keep his family afloat.

“We hardly work anymore, we are afraid to go out into the street,” he says. “We are not looking for work because we are afraid. »

He estimates that he brings in about 60% less than before the raids began. He, his wife and their four children are trying to survive thanks to the reduction in their salaries.

“We want this to stop, but we don’t control these things,” Jesus said. “The government is doing it.”

Unintended consequences

With fewer construction workers available to build homes, construction delays could lead to a housing shortage and lead to higher housing prices.

This wouldn’t be the first time that changes in immigration policy could be at least partially a factor in housing unaffordability.

Researchers found that under an Obama-era immigration program, deportations led to a construction labor shortage and, as a result, fewer new housing units.

The program, called Secure Communities, was launched during the George W. Bush administration but was expanded under former President Barack Obama, leading to more than 300,000 evictions from 2008 to 2013.

Nationally, there was a 2-3% decrease in the construction workforce and a 5.7% decrease in new construction during this period. The price of new construction being built increased 4.4 percent, according to Dayin Zhang, one of the researchers and an assistant professor at the Wisconsin School of Business.

“It is difficult to predict the future because many economic conditions have changed over the past two decades,” Zhang said. “However, given the current pace of evictions, it is reasonable to expect that construction labor and housing shortages will become more severe than the gated communities period. »

How that might translate today will likely depend on the total number of people deported under the Trump administration. The administration says more than 600,000 people have been deported since Trump took office in January, although immigration advocates question the accuracy of those numbers.

Placed in the spotlight

Since the meeting, Guerrero has received unusual attention for someone who usually stays off social media.

His video caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, who asked to meet with him. The meeting, held at a seafood restaurant, went well, Guerrero said, with Cuellar expressing his desire to bring awareness to the issue in Congress.

On Dec. 10, Guerrero attended a private meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott when Abbott visited the Valley to advocate for his property tax cut proposals.

At the end of the meeting, Guerrero introduced himself to Abbott, but the governor seemed to already know who he was. During their brief exchange, Guerrero gave him a letter and invited him to another builders’ meeting in January.

Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

It also received negative feedback. People left messages on social media accusing him of wanting to exploit cheap labor. He strongly opposed the accusation, adding that entry-level workers are paid the equivalent of $15 an hour.

People on social media also said he should be prosecuted or investigated, and told him he should not challenge local officials.

Guerrero doesn’t back down.

For the January meeting, he invited more elected officials from all levels of government. He hopes these ongoing public rallies will raise awareness of their plight.

“People may not understand the magnitude of what’s happening,” Guererror said. “But this is where we need to come together as human beings, and we need to be a little bit aware of the real situation that we’re facing.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by Methodist Health Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

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