"You Tricked Us": The RGV Builders Who Voted for Trump Are Now Fighting His ICE Raids

159 businesses. More than 10 construction companies hit, then 15, then 20. A framer who says he once had to call more than 35 crews just to find one.

Those are the numbers South Texas builders gave The New York Times as they described what immigration raids have done to the Rio Grande Valley's construction industry. On Monday, the eve of the midterm election, the Times podcast The Daily aired a year-long report by producer Lindsey Garrison on the Valley's shift. The central figure is Mario Guerrero, executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, the STBA.

The STBA represents 159 construction and real estate businesses, mostly in the Valley. According to the Times, many of its members voted for Trump. Now they are leading one of the loudest pushes against his enforcement campaign in South Texas.

"YOU'RE GONNA LOSE"

The most striking moment in the episode came in Washington.

Guerrero told the Times that STBA leaders met with several ICE officials during a trip to the Capitol. He said they asked a simple question: aren't private construction sites private property?

According to Guerrero, an official told them the government does not consider property private unless it is fully enclosed, so no warrant is needed. Guerrero said he pushed back by asking whether standing on the official's own lawn would count as trespassing. He said the official replied, "It's not time to be smart."

Guerrero said the group then asked why agents were arresting people with valid paperwork. He told the Times an official said the administration would not treat as valid any paperwork issued under prior presidents.

His closing message to the room, as he recounted it:

"I came to tell you as a Trump voter, as somebody that supported Trump, and I voted for him all three times... You're gonna lose. You tricked us... I can guarantee you the Valley will never be red again."

He said the room went silent.

The Times reported that Rep. Henry Cuellar's office and others who attended confirmed Guerrero's account and the issues discussed. ICE did not respond to the Times' request for comment.

https://youtu.be/GlikYVRyniY?si=DyemlT3nfgA9a3eT

"SHE WAS NO HELP"

Before Washington, Guerrero said the STBA tried local leaders first. Mayors, commissioners and local law enforcement told them immigration was a federal matter.

So they went to Congress. Guerrero said he had a direct line to Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who represents his district.

"Because my mom and my dad built her house," he told the Times. "She was no help."

The Times reported that the group also approached Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, as well as candidates Bobby Pulido and James Talarico. Guerrero said he even tried to reach then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a farmers' meeting and was removed from the room.

A MEETING ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

In January, the STBA called a meeting with members of Congress. Guerrero said he didn't realize at first that he had scheduled it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"I started listening to Martin Luther King speeches, because I had never really paid attention to him as a child," he said. "I'm like, man, this resembles what we're going through."

A speaker at that meeting claimed more than 9,000 people had been deported from the area. The Daily does not say where that figure comes from, and The 956 Report has not independently verified it.

STBA Vice President Julio, a McAllen-born developer raised partly in Reynosa, delivered a warning to the lawmakers. He contrasted the Valley's quiet response with protests elsewhere in the country.

"We're quiet," he said. "But just don't wake up that tiger."

Guerrero told the Times the meeting did not produce a clear answer on what builders' rights are when agents arrive at a job site.

"I don't believe that they know it," he said. "And that's very frightening."

THE WORKFORCE THE VALLEY CAN'T REPLACE

The episode's sharpest economic point is about skill, not wages.

Guerrero told the Times that apprentices start at $15 an hour. That is more than double the $7.25 minimum wage that applies in Texas.

"It's not that it's slave labor pay," he said. "It's that the work is hard."

The Times followed a framer it identified only by an initial, for his safety. He was brought to the Valley from Mexico as a small child and learned the trade from his father, a master framer. The Times timed his father framing a pantry in a little over 10 minutes. Then his father was detained, and the son took over the crew.

The son was later detained himself and held at the Port Isabel Detention Center. He told the Times he lost 15 to 20 pounds in the first weeks. He was released on bond and returned to the job site the next day because he was behind on rent and bills. He also said an immigration judge later denied his case, and that he is appealing.

The ripple effects reached well past framing crews, according to the Times. One small builder said he went from about 25 homes in a normal year to 12 by the end of 2025, with contracts for only three going into 2026. A cement company owner said he laid off more than 100 workers and later filed for bankruptcy. Neither business was named.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU VOTED FOR"

The episode does not let the builders off easy.

The framer said most Valley contractors voted for Trump, and he called himself "somewhat betrayed." He said he raised his price on one job from $4.50 to $5.80 per square foot because so few framers are left.

"That's what you voted for," he said he told one contractor.

Asked about that criticism, Julio gave a candid answer. "If it wasn't affecting my wallet, I really wouldn't make any issue about it," he said, before adding that it was both.

STBA Chairman Ronnie, himself the son of a framer, answered the framer directly through the Times: "From the chairman of STBA, I consider you a giant."

WHAT THE STBA IS DOING NOW

Guerrero said he has stopped waiting on Washington. The STBA is starting a trade school to teach Americans the jobs hit hardest by the raids. The Times reported that classes will run quarterly, the first class is planned at 28 students, and the board hopes to begin this month.

"We don't have time," Guerrero said. "We need to start putting labor out into the workforce."

He acknowledged it is a small start. He is also expanding the STBA statewide and told the Times he is considering a run for office.

His closing argument in the episode was about the border itself.

"We are Mexico," he said. "The only difference is that there's a small, tiny river between the imaginary line of Mexico and the United States."

THE VOTE

The Times closed the episode with its latest polling. According to that polling, Texas Latino voters split evenly between Trump and Kamala Harris in 2024. The same polling found Latino voters favoring Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race by nearly 40 points.

Whether the Valley swings that hard will be known after Tuesday.

This article is based on reporting by Lindsey Garrison for The New York Times podcast The Daily, published Nov. 2, 2026, with help from Carlos Prieto. The episode was hosted by Michael Barbaro. Listen to the full episode at nytimes.com/the-daily.