The proposal puts De La Cruz at odds with her own party’s enforcement-first posture on immigration: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas over the past year, and some Republicans are now seeking new legal worker categories to offset the economic disruption those arrests have caused.
U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, an Edinburg Republican, announced Monday she would seek a new federal visa category for construction workers, following a meeting with South Texas builders who said immigration enforcement arrests had halted job sites and threatened their industry.
De La Cruz said she plans to schedule a meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor to explore creating a visa category for the construction sector modeled on the H-2A agricultural program, which allows foreign nationals to work seasonally in farming.
“We’d like to see where the construction industry would fit,” De La Cruz said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas over the past year. Builders across the Rio Grande Valley say the pace of enforcement has left job sites understaffed, with workers staying home out of fear of arrest.
“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 said. “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.”
Industry alarm
Mario Guerrero, executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, said builders gathered Monday to share the financial impact the raids had had on their businesses and to ask basic questions about their legal rights when federal officers arrive at a construction site.
“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.”
The issue drew public attention in November when Guerrero convened a gathering that attracted more than 300 people from the lumber, real estate, banking, and construction industries, as well as local elected officials. Representatives from each sector described how ICE arrests had slowed or halted their operations.
Since that meeting, the South Texas Builders Association has been invited to meet with congressional representatives including De La Cruz and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat.
Congressional movement
De La Cruz is not alone among Republicans seeking a middle path. In September, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Pennsylvania Republican, resubmitted the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act — legislation he first introduced in 2023 — which would create a new visa category for nonagricultural workers. Cuellar co-sponsored the bill.
De La Cruz has previously sought changes to immigration work-visa law. She introduced the Bracero 2.0 bill, aimed at modifying the H-2A agricultural program to streamline the employer application process, allow workers to change jobs within a state without reapplying for a visa, and extend contracts from 10 to 12 months. That bill has not come to a vote, though the Department of Homeland Security enacted a rule in October to streamline H-2A applications.
Guerrero said the builders association intended to keep pressing congressional leaders for a workable solution.
“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.”