A Texas homebuilder turned blue after ICE raids cost him workers. Talarico won — but builders’ costs keep rising

He’s also president of the South Texas Builders Association, a homebuilders’ group in the Rio Grande Valley. In a segment that aired Nov. 1 on ABC’s “This Week,” Cavazos said that immigration officials had been “tapping guys on the shoulder while pouring concrete and picking them up.”

When asked about replacing those workers, his answer was no. The manual laborers his industry needs aren’t there to hire, he said.

Voting blue and hoping for change

Cavazos considers himself neither a Democrat nor a Republican, ABC reported. This cycle, though, he found himself supporting Democratic candidates, and he predicted many people in his community would too.

On Nov. 3, Texas elected Democrat James Talarico to the U.S. Senate over Republican Ken Paxton. Texans hadn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since Lloyd Bentsen won reelection in 1988.

Still, the win won’t do much for builders this year, as Talarico won’t be sworn in until January. Cavazos blames his losses in 2026 on tariffs and immigration raids.

President Trump put a 10% tariff on imported softwood lumber by proclamation in September 2025, under trade powers Congress had already handed the president. In the meantime, builders around the country say labor keeps getting harder to find and more expensive.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) argues that with fewer workers on site, homes take longer to finish and cost more to build.