Cuellar, South Texas builders strategize over ICE raids at construction sites

PHARR, Texas - Mario Guerrero, CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, says the region’s banks are also being impacted ICE’s raids on construction sites in the Rio Grande Valley.Guerrero called a meeting recently with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to discuss the economic impact the raids are having on the building industry. More than 20 construction company owners attended. The building industry representatives said jobs are being delayed because workers, undocumented or otherwise, are not showing up at the construction sites. He said ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers are rounding up all the workers, whether they are undocumented or not.“We're getting attacked from two different directions. One is interest rates. The other is the immigration crisis. They (ICE) are not making it easy for construction companies to go ahead and build these homes. It's taking longer,” Guerrero told the Rio Grande Guardian.“People need to realize that a lot of this construction is happening off of bank loans, right? So, if a construction company is building out of a loan, now you're faced with paying higher interest, because you're not finishing your project at a certain time.Guerrero continued: “So, now we have banks that are extremely, extremely worried, because now they're seeing delays in the projects. It is taking so long that they're afraid that construction companies are going to start defaulting on loans.”Asked if his comment about banks being worried was purely anecdotal, Guerrero said: “No, this is coming directly from presidents and vice presidents of these banks. They're extremely worried. You have to understand that the cycle, the wheel, is not moving. And if the wheel is not moving, that's an economic issue that we are facing. And it's not moving because people are afraid to work. Both illegal and American citizens are afraid to work because they (ICE) are taking everybody.”Guerrero said he hopes house prices in the Valley do not start to rise because housing projects are being stalled. The members of the South Texas Builders Association that were present for the meeting with Cuellar, which was held at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Pharr, said they would take up the congressman’s offer to go to Washington for a meeting with officials with the Department of Homeland Security. Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.