ICE raids hit Texas builders and Latino voters who backed Trump

Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign in Texas is increasingly targeting construction workers, many of them Hispanic and undocumented. Raids and traffic stops are leaving building sites short-staffed and separating families.

ICE made more than 12,000 arrests in Texas in July, nearly twice the number recorded in Florida or California. The administration has set a new target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day.

Construction sector loses workers

Four in 10 Texas construction workers were born outside the United States; most are Hispanic, and many are undocumented. Immigration lawyer Jacob Monty said ICE agents are checking roads, parking lots and neighborhoods where construction crews work.

The arrests are affecting costs and the pace of building. Sergio Benavides, the owner of a construction company, said deportations have forced employers to pay more, while housing, food and fuel prices have risen. Some homes are being left unfinished.

Arrests and fear among crews

Marco Antonio Osorio, an undocumented Mexican who has lived in the United States since 1993, changed his route and clothing to avoid attracting attention on his way to work. On 10 June, he was stopped on a freeway and then taken into ICE custody.

Osorio spent 40 days in ICE detention before being released because of a lack of due process. His residency application, filed with help from his daughter, a US Marine, remains under consideration.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the United States for 35 years, continued working as a house framer after other workers began refusing jobs because of fears of arrest. He also changed clothes before driving and removed work documents from his van.

Trump voters grow disillusioned

Sergio Benavides, a naturalized US citizen, voted for Trump in 2024 because of his promises to lower prices and secure the border. He now says a subcontractor and the man’s wife were detained, leaving three US-citizen children behind.

An Equis Research poll found that 63% of Texas Latinos disapprove of Trump. In the Senate race, 58% of likely Latino voters support Democrat James Talarico, compared with 33% for Republican Ken Paxton.