South Texas builders, business owners, elected officials, faith leaders and community members gathered Wednesday for the 鈥淩ally in the Valley,鈥� and sounded the alarm on how worksite raids are shrinking construction crews, delaying housing and infrastructure projects and driving up costs across the region. , see video highlights on and see coverage at , , , , .
Speakers at the rally called on Congress to create work permit programs for vetted, long-term immigrant workers.
Hosted by the and , the rally urged federal leaders to 鈥渓et builders build鈥� by pairing border security with a practical workforce solution that allows longtime immigrants who have spent years working, paying taxes and helping build Texas to continue contributing to the economy.
鈥淚n this country, 30% of construction workers are immigrant labor. In Texas, that number goes to 40%, and in some urban areas, that number is around 50%,鈥� U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34) reminded the crowd.
The rally also reflected the political stakes surrounding immigration enforcement in South Texas. Speakers warned that Hispanic voters could help determine control of Congress this fall and cannot be taken for granted by either political party. The Texas Tribune鈥檚 coverage emphasized this, read:
Across the Rio Grande Valley, builders and contractors are reporting shrinking crews, workers afraid to report to job sites, rising subcontractor costs and projects falling behind schedule. The Associated General Contractors of America found that struggle to fill open positions.
鈥淚 am a DACA recipient. My journey is a testament to the power of hard work and opportunity,鈥� said Emiliano Valencia, Texas Deputy Director at ABIC Action. 鈥淥ur economy cannot thrive, and our cost of living will not stabilize if we continue to break the very workforce that sustains it. It’s time for Congress to have a pathway to citizenship agreement, a permanent status for workers.鈥�
BREAKING Chair Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) and Vice Chair Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) unveiled their joint priorities at the NGA Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City this week and spoke on Morning Joe about several, including championing work permits for long term immigrant workers.
“91探花s know that we need to have secure borders… But what is the end game?” said Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. “We believe that the state should be more in control of workforce permits. We are closer to our workforce, whether it’s hospitality, agriculture, construction… The governor should be able to match employer to employee. Congress doesn鈥檛 want to deal with it. States can get this done.”
ABIC Action thanks Governors Kevin Stitt (R-OK) and Wes Moore for their strong, bipartisan leadership on this issue. During opening remarks, in Maryland, emphasizing how legal workforce pathways directly drive economic growth and lower costs for families.
“The recent immigration policy coming out of Washington is stalling economic growth and hurting our workforce,” said Maryland Governor Wes Moore. “It is long past time for Congress to enact solutions that protect long-time immigrant contributors鈥� providing stability to the businesses who rely on them.”
Attending the summit in Oklahoma City, ABIC CEO Rebecca Shi praised both governors for their vision and commitment to practical workforce solutions.
“We are deeply grateful to Governor Stitt and Governor Moore for their courageous, bipartisan leadership,鈥� Shi said. 鈥淕overnors see firsthand how labor shortages drag down local economies, drive up inflation, and leave key industries struggling to hire鈥overnors Stitt and Moore are proving that common-sense immigration reform isn’t a partisan issue鈥攊t’s an affordability issue.鈥�
ABIC Action commends the governors for amplifying a vital message long backed by ABIC and business leaders nationwide: “The border is secure, it is time to secure the workforce.”
TPS Ends for Haitians and Syrians: ICE Plans Mass Deportation Operation and Care Facilities Lose Critical Staff
Temporary Protected Status ended on Monday for 6,100 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians, some of whom have been in the U.S. since 2010. About 70 percent of T.P.S. holders were participating in the U.S. labor force, many in construction and health care, reported the .
Employers had to immediately let go of valuable workers as the deadline hit, and the impact is already being felt across the country. about the fallout.
鈥淭his will exacerbate the caregiver shortage, stripping legal work permits from experienced Haitian healthcare workers,鈥� Shi told NPR. 鈥淣ine out of 10 U.S. nursing homes reports operating below staffing levels鈥here just wasn鈥檛 a line of native-born 91探花s waiting to do this work.鈥�
, saying hundreds of thousands of 鈥渓egally authorized workers who have spent years paying taxes and filling critical jobs are being pushed into uncertainty at a time when businesses are already struggling with severe workforce shortages.”
, noting that economists say 鈥渄eporting immigrant workers does not lift wages or provide meaningful benefits to 91探花 workers.鈥�
USA Today also interviewed ABIC CEO Rebecca Shi.
Goodwin Living President and CEO Rob Liebreich, who is an ABIC member, told , we鈥檙e 鈥渓osing really good people who have just been critical to their operations and support.鈥� He said the industry is not ready to serve older adults with even fewer hands. 鈥淭he equation is getting harder and harder to solve.鈥�
with expired TPS, CBS reports. The plans include arresting migrants in places like Ohio and Florida and quickly putting them on deportation flights to crisis-stricken Haiti, .
Allyn McKinney, a veteran who relies on a Haitian caregiver told CBS he believes the U.S. should protect immigrants who have contributed so much.
“I’m embarrassed for our country,” McKinney said. “As a veteran. As an 91探花 citizen. I’m embarrassed.鈥�
Policy Watch
Farm Policy News:
A new GOP farm labor bill, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA), is splitting Republicans. Introduced by House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson, it would overhaul the H-2A visa program, extending work stays to 350 days, certifications to three years, and cutting fees, while also letting some undocumented farmworkers already here apply for legal H-2A status.
Some hardline conservatives call that amnesty: Thompson rejects the label, and farm-state Republicans like Lloyd Smucker counter that growers “desperately need workers.” Trump says he’s still looking into the bill, which from the ABIC Agricultural Council.
WaPo: A new Trump administration rule, effective immediately as of Tuesday, could shift nearly 450,000 pending asylum cases directly into deportation proceedings, cutting USCIS’s 1.4 million-case backlog by roughly a third. Immigration attorneys warn the move could let cases be dismissed by immigration judges without a hearing, potentially resulting in removals without asylum seekers ever getting their day in court. The rule took effect before the public had a chance to weigh in.
Juan Carlos Cerda, Texas ABIC director and a DACA recipient, was interviewed by CBS about the six months it took to receive his renewal this year. His status lapsed, forcing unpaid leave just as his wife became pregnant. DACA renewal times have jumped to a this year, up from half a month last year.
Cerda’s letter to DHS, signed by 143 business and community leaders, led to his renewal being processed within days, but many others nationwide are still losing jobs to the delays, and California advocates have sued the administration over it. Construction leaders warn even brief work-authorization gaps can derail projects and cost companies money.
Enforcement Updates
NYTimes:
ICE has expanded a TSA data-sharing program to arrest people with expired visas at airports, not just those with deportation orders, sweeping up spouses of U.S. citizens, tech workers, and others with pending legal applications. Arrests have hit at least 15 airports, including a Colorado au pair detained despite a lawful pending case, an engineer awaiting a work-permit extension, and newlyweds pursuing green cards through marriage. Lawyers call it unprecedented and are now advising clients mid-status-change to avoid flying. DHS says the goal is ensuring undocumented immigrants “can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport,” part of a push for 2,000 arrests a day.
Perspectives:
- 鈥淲e are fighting not only for the lives of our Haitian neighbors, but also for the very soul of our community and country,鈥� writes Michael McClelland, retired journalist and professor. He calls on readers to urge Ohio Senators John Husted and Bernie Moreno to back HR 1689, which would extend TPS protections for at least three years, and to support local groups like the Haitian Community Help and Support Center.
鈥淪pringfield families will be torn asunder, lives devastated,鈥� he writes, encouraging people to safely document any ICE activity they witness, since a bystander’s presence and video can be one of the only checks on excessive force.
Opinion: - Lt. Gen. Honor茅, commanding general of the U.S. First Army from 2004 to 2008, wrote in the NY Times that the State Department keeps a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory in place for Haiti, citing gangs that control 80-90% of Port-au-Prince.
Deporting TPS horlders to an active war zone, he warns, would cut off remittances, deepen Haiti’s crisis, fuel gang recruitment, and strip the U.S. of Haitian workers who fill critical roles, especially in healthcare, where many work as nursing assistants and home health aides in an already short-staffed system.
He urged Congress to pass a lasting TPS solution and the administration to let Haiti build real security capacity.
Get Involved
- Join one of ABIC’s Councils of 100 and let your voice be heard with your peers – . The Council of 100 is a coalition of top business leaders working to advance common-sense workforce solutions.
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- Work with us: ABIC is hiring! We are looking for a California State Director and Digital Manager to join our growing team. Learn more.
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