House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Houston-area Democratic lawmakers said Monday that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies are creating fear among workers and families, with potential consequences for local businesses and the construction industry.
Jeffries(D-NY), and Rep. Sylvia Garcia(D-Houston), met with workers, business owners and community leaders during a closed-door roundtable focused on how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and mass deportation policies are affecting Houston’s workforce, small businesses and cost of living.
Participants raised concerns that fear of deportation is keeping workers away from job sites and customers away from businesses, adding to financial pressures facing families and employers.
“Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine has, in fact, targeted, brutalized and, in some cases, killed American citizens and law-abiding immigrant communities,” Jeffries said in a press conference following the meeting. “That’s unacceptable.”
Jeffries said the administration had promised to target violent felons with immigration enforcement, but argued its actions have affected a broader segment of the population.
Garcia said the enforcement policies are affecting Houston’s economy, citing concerns about workers missing shifts and construction projects facing labor challenges.
“ICE’s aggressive enforcement is not just hurting immigrant families,” Garcia said. “It’s hurting the Houston economy.”
A Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report late last year found 20% of Texas construction firms surveyed said workers had left job sites or failed to show up because of actual or rumored immigration enforcement actions. In Houston, KPRC spoke to small construction and home renovation businesses who have felt the impact of immigration enforcement. The results have been project times lasting longer and increased expenses.
“Make no mistake, this is an affordability issue. When workers are afraid to show up for work, families lose paychecks. When customers are afraid to leave their homes, restaurants and small businesses lose money,” Garcia explained. “When construction workers are afraid to go to a job site, homes will not get built.”
Rep. Christian Menefee(D-Houston), who also attended the roundtable, said participants described the financial strain facing families and businesses as they navigate rising everyday expenses and uncertainty surrounding immigration enforcement.
“People are suffering. They are suffering all across our communities,” Menefee said. “They are struggling.”
Menefee criticized the administration’s plans for increased federal funding for ICE—already the highest-funded US law enforcement agencyarguing resources should instead address the needs of communities facing high gas prices, utility bills, and the cost of supplies for small businesses.
He recalled a comment from a worker affiliated with the Service Employees International Union who described a question being asked in her community: “Why is ICE here?”
Menefee said the fear among residents was that the agency had come to harm them.
He characterized ICE as a “terror agency,” arguing its operations were undermining trust and creating fear in immigrant communities. His remarks reflected his criticism of the agency and its enforcement practices.
Menefee said Democrats would work with Garcia to challenge immigration enforcement practices they believe harm immigrant communities. Jeffries called for taxpayer dollars to be used to make life more affordable rather than fund ICE’s enforcement actions, criticizing what he described as the mistreatment of citizens and immigrants.
Despite the concerns raised during the roundtable, Menefee expressed optimism about Democrats’ plans to challenge the administration’s immigration enforcement policies if they regain the majority in Congress.
“I know that Democrats will be marching together arm in arm come January when we are in the majority, with a clear vision to take on ICE and to stop them from terrorizing our communities,” Menefee said. “Immigrants in Houston are not other. These are Houstonians. These are people who belong to our community as much as anybody else.”
