Immigration Raids in South Texas Are Starting to Hit the Economy
wsj.com
WESLACO, Texas—At Monte Cielo, a new housing development in this growing region of South Texas, half-built homes are sitting empty. On a recent day, just a few workers hovered behind temporary wrap tacked to wall frames.
The quiet scene comes after federal immigration agents have hit the development repeatedly, carrying out at least half a dozen raids there in recent months, builders said. The most recent was a few weeks ago. Some eight workers were arrested in a chaotic scene of laborers running away from federal vehicles racing through the three-street subdivision at high speed, the builders said.
The result? Homes are months behind schedule, and contractors face an uphill battle to recruit more workers to finish them.
“They hear Monte Cielo and say, ‘No, no. You can pay me whatever you want, but I’m not going to go work there,’” Alejandro Garcia, one of several builders with homes under way in the development, said of the challenges in trying to hire workers.
The situation is becoming familiar across the Rio Grande Valley, where trade groups are raising alarms about aggressive immigration enforcement wreaking economic havoc. Construction delays threaten higher prices for buyers and lower margins for builders. Some builders said they just hope to break even on delayed projects. Materials suppliers are laying off employees. One local concrete company filed for bankruptcy protection, citing a drop-off in sales because of immigration raids as the reason.
“They are basically taking everyone in there working, whether they have proper documentation or not,” said Mario Guerrero, chief executive of the South Texas Builders Association. Guerrero added that he voted for President Trump, along with most of the region, and supports deportations of criminals, but “when you are terrorizing jobsites, people are afraid to go to work.”
... wsj.com |
