De La Cruz promised to explore legal options for migrants to work in construction, after South Texas builders said immigration enforcement actions at job sites have undermined their businesses.
She said Monday she plans to meet with the U.S. Department of Labor, and suggested the federal government create a special visa program for construction workers modeled on the H-2A visa that lets foreign nationals work in agriculture.
“We’d like to see where the construction industry would fit,” De La Cruz said.
De La Cruz’s remarks came as President Donald Trump, who won reelection after promising to step up deportations, remains in office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas during the last year, according to the report.
In comments tied to the builders’ concerns, De La Cruz said she was elected to represent South Texas even when that stance pushes against the Trump administration. She 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.”
The proposal also grew out of a Monday closed-door meeting with the South Texas Builders Association. Builders discussed issues affecting the construction industry and raised questions, according to the association’s executive director, about how enforcement works at construction sites and what requirements apply during ICE raids.
“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,” Mario Guerrero, executive director of the association, said. Guerrero said De La Cruz was willing to address the questions with authorities, saying, “She’s willing to figure out and get us that answer.”
For months, the report said, fear of ICE raids has scared off workers across multiple businesses, including construction and restaurants. The concerns in the Rio Grande Valley’s construction sector drew renewed attention after Guerrero and the builders association 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 local elected officials. At the event, representatives described how ICE arrests have hurt their businesses and prompted work to stall, the report said.
Since then, Guerrero and the builders association have been invited to meet with congressional leaders, including De La Cruz and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who co-sponsored legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker.
The report said the conversations are part of a broader interest among some Republicans in creating a new category of legal workers, a shift from the hardline stance many have taken in recent years. It added that Republicans in Texas and Washington, led by Trump, have argued that stricter immigration enforcement would open up more jobs for Americans, while some members of Congress are now trying to find “a middle path.”
Smucker, a Pennsylvania Republican, resubmitted in September the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, legislation he previously introduced in 2023. The bill would create a new visa category for nonagricultural workers.
The report also said De La Cruz has previously urged changes to immigration law aimed at labor needs, including by introducing the Bracero 2.0 bill last year. That bill was meant to address agricultural labor concerns by changing the H-2A visa program, including by streamlining the application process for agriculture employers and creating a regional pilot that would allow workers to change jobs within a state without reapplying for visas.
The bill would also have set wages for H-2A workers to match state minimum wages plus $2 per hour, and expand H-2A contracts from 10 to 12 months, the report said. It added that the Bracero 2.0 bill has not been put to a vote.
Even without that vote, the report said the Department of Homeland Security enacted a new rule in October to streamline the application process for H-2A workers, setting a recent example of the kind of administrative change De La Cruz is now seeking for construction.
Guerrero said the builders association is continuing to engage lawmakers, telling the report, “We’re trying to do the right thing,” and adding, “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.”