Prominent construction industry leaders in Texas are voicing opposition to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance’s proposed mass deportation program, warning it could severely impact their ability to complete infrastructure projects and maintain operations. The Trump-Vance administration, with former Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan serving as “border czar,” has pledged to launch the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.
“President Trump has a mandate from the American people,” Homan said. “We’ve got to secure this country. We’ve got to save American lives.”
Construction leaders, however, argue that the plan would cripple the industry, which heavily relies on undocumented workers. Stan Marek, a Texas-based construction mogul, told NPR that mass deportations “would devastate” the sector, claiming, “We wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools.”
Economic consultant Ray Perryman echoed Marek’s concerns, noting that the Texas construction industry employs over half a million foreign-born workers, with six in ten estimated to be illegal immigrants. “It’s not remotely practical to round up and deport everybody,” Perryman said. “And, we simply don’t have an economic structure that can sustain that.”
Instead of deportation, Marek and others have proposed amnesty for the estimated 11 to 22 million illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. However, Trump, Vance, and Homan have repeatedly rejected any form of amnesty.
Trump’s first term demonstrated the economic impact of stricter immigration enforcement, tightening the labor market, particularly in blue-collar industries like construction. With fewer workers available, wages for construction jobs increased, and opportunities opened for women and other groups who had been underrepresented in the field.
The impending clash between the administration’s immigration crackdown and industry demands highlights the broader debate over how best to address labor shortages while maintaining border security and upholding federal law.
