U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz promised to explore new ways for migrants to work legally in the construction industry.
The Edinburg Republican announced on Monday her plans to meet with the U.S. Department of Labor, after South Texas builders voiced frustration with how immigration arrests at construction sites were negatively impacting their industry. De La Cruz suggested the U.S. should create a special visa program for construction workers, similar
to the H-2A visa program that allows foreign nationals to work in the agriculture sector.
“We’d like to see where the construction industry would fit,” De La Cruz said.
President Donald Trump won reelection after promising to step up deportations. During the last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas alone.
“They elected me to represent them in Washington, D.C., and to be their voice, even when it pushes against the Trump administration,” De La Cruz added. “At the end of the day, I want to represent South Texas, and I want to represent our community and make sure that we continue to be prosperous.”
There’s ongoing interest among Republicans to create a new category of legal workers — a softening to the hardline stance many in the party have taken for years. Republicans in Texas and Washington, led by Trump, have argued in part that stricter immigration enforcement would open up more jobs for Americans.
One year later, some members of Congress are attempting to find a middle path.
In September, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Pennsylvania Republican, resubmitted legislation he previously introduced in 2023, the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, that would create a new visa category for nonagricultural workers.
De La Cruz’s open support for a new status for construction workers comes after a meeting with the South Texas Builders Association on Monday.
During the closed-door meeting, builders discussed issues the construction industry is facing, but they also raised questions about their rights when one of their construction sites is targeted by ICE officers, according to Mario Guerrero, executive director of the association.
“We’re trying to figure out what rules apply with all these raids that are happening, if there’s any that do apply, because we’re not really being informed if people need to show warrants or not,” Guerrero said. “She’s willing to figure that out and get us that answer.”
For months, the fear of ICE raids has scared off workers across several businesses, including construction and restaurants. The challenges in the Rio Grande Valley’s construction field gained renewed focus after Guerrero held a large gathering of industry leaders in November.
The meeting drew more than 300 people, including business professionals from the lumber, real estate, banking and construction industries as well as a handful of local elected officials. Representatives from each took turns sharing how their business had been hurt by ICE arrests, which have prompted work to stall.
Since then, Guerrero and the builders association have been invited to meet with congressional leaders like De La Cruz and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who co-sponsored Smucker’s bill.
“We’re trying to do the right thing,” Guerrero said. “If we need to keep having these meetings in order for us to keep moving in the right direction, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
This isn’t the first time De La Cruz has suggested the nation’s immigration laws should be changed. Last year, De La Cruz introduced the Bracero 2.0 bill, which was meant to address labor concerns in the agricultural sector by making changes to the H-2A visa program.
The bill aimed to streamline the application process for agriculture employers and launch a regional pilot program that would allow workers to change jobs within a state without having to reapply for a visa. It would also have set wages for H-2A workers to match the state minimum of where the contract is taking place, plus $2 per hour and expanded H-2A contracts from 10 to 12 months.
While the bill has not been put to a vote, the Department of Homeland Security enacted a new rule to streamline the application process for H-2A workers in October.
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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
