The Audacity of Praising Immigrant Labor While Funding Their Deportation

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez delivered an impassioned defense of immigrant construction workers during a January 21 hearing, emphasizing their indispensable role in America's housing market. The next day, he voted to fund the very agency responsible for deporting them. The contradiction speaks volumes about the performative nature of border district representation.

"We have to be honest about that because while we talk about immigrants, 30% of construction workers in this country are immigrants," Gonzalez told HUD Secretary Scott Turner during the House Committee on Financial Services hearing. "And in Texas, about 40% of construction workers are immigrants." In Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, that figure reaches 60 percent. These statistics came from Gonzalez's own meetings with the South Texas Builders Association, where he heard firsthand accounts of the labor crisis strangling residential construction across the region.

The congressman quantified the stakes. "Just last year, it was shown that we would have had 400,000 homes less built in this country if it had not been for immigrant labor." He emphasized the immediate economic impact on his district. "Framing prices in my district have doubled this year alone because of the labor shortage. That's just the framing of it. You can keep on going—carpentry, bricklaying, roofing."

The congressman wasn't finished. "Right now, I have builders, I have realtors, I have lenders, I have title companies coming to me. These are folks who supported President Trump in his last election, who came to me and said what nobody else would say out loud: we need immigrants to build America. And we cannot do it without immigrant labor."

The construction industry needs immigrant workers because they work for less. Undocumented workers in Texas construction earn between 8 and 24 percent less than documented workers doing the same jobs. In South Texas, where construction laborers average $37,600 annually, contractors save thousands per worker by hiring undocumented labor.

The builders who approached Gonzalez were not describing a labor shortage. They were describing their profit margins. Federal law requires equal pay regardless of immigration status, but undocumented workers rarely report wage theft when deportation is the alternative. Gonzalez voted to fund the agency that maintains this system.

The builders, realtors, and lenders who voted for Trump came to Gonzalez with a problem. They need immigrant workers. They won't say it out loud, but they told him anyway. Gonzalez took their confession to Washington and delivered it to Secretary Turner. He pointed out the obvious contradiction in enforcement strategy. "While this Administration promised to crack down on violent criminals, they have instead chosen to wreak havoc on our communities by forceful arrests of people trying to make an honest living."

Strong testimony from a congressman about to vote the opposite way.

The next day, Gonzalez voted yes on the DHS appropriations bill. The 220-207 vote funded ICE operations through September. Seven Democrats broke ranks to support the legislation. Gonzalez joined Henry Cuellar, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen, Don Davis, and Jared Golden in providing the margin Republicans needed. Thomas Massie was the sole Republican voting no.

The vote came amid intense Democratic opposition. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team voted against the bill, arguing it lacked sufficient ICE accountability measures. The January 7 killing of Renee Good during an ICE operation in Minneapolis had crystallized progressive fury over enforcement tactics. Gonzalez voted to fund the same agency he had criticized the day before.

His post-vote statement acknowledged the contradiction without resolving it. "Regrettably, this bill does nothing to stop ICE from continuing the shameful operations in South Texas and communities around the country - indiscriminate deportations that are causing businesses to shutter, putting construction at a standstill, and causing a major labor shortage." He voted for it anyway.

Border district Democrats occupy complicated political terrain. The 34th Congressional District stretches along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville to Corpus Christi, encompassing communities where immigration enforcement directly affects local economies. Gonzalez has represented the district since 2023 after redistricting moved him from the 15th District. He positions himself as a conservative Democrat, co-chairing the Blue Dog Coalition. These political calculations presumably informed his vote.

The South Texas construction industry operates on immigrant labor. This is not speculation or political rhetoric. Gonzalez cited concrete figures from industry representatives who explained their workforce composition and their inability to fill positions with available workers. "We have a labor shortage in this country. We especially have a labor shortage in carpentry, in framing, in brick and tile laying," he stated. He preempted the standard response about workforce development. "I know people say, well, we need to build our workforce. We probably do need to build our workforce, but we're not going to do that overnight."

The construction industry in South Texas is learning the hard way what voting for the wrong candidate can do to their business. Gonzalez's voters are perhaps facing a similar reckoning. How can South Texas stand behind a politician whose testimony promises one thing? His vote delivers another.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

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