South Texas Builders Struggle with Labor Crunch

0:00It's March 30th. From your city to your ears. This is El Paso News today. Powered by AI. Homebuilders in South Texas are facing a tough labor crunch, and they're pointing fingers at strict immigration enforcement for making it worse. Guys like Alexis Hernandez from Treasure Builders say skilled workers are nowhere to be found, leaving projects stalled and crews shorthanded. The latest stats from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics paint a clear picture, 600,000 jobs sit empty across Texas with construction, taken a big hit alongside health care and education. Hernandez used to run painting crews of 10 to 12 people. Now he's down to just one guy. Builders are feeling the pain firsthand, with framing jobs that should wrap in two weeks, dragging on for a full month because of missing framers. New home completions in the region lack three to six months behind schedule, and some projects stretch eight months overdue as crews vanish. Texas officials are teaming up with colleges and trade schools to train the next wave of workers.

1:02South Texas College leads the charge with hands-on programs and advanced manufacturing and construction, partnering with local builders to get students, building real structures right on campus. These grads step straight into waiting jobs, offering real hope to outfits like Hernandez's amid the ongoing worker drought, training ramps up fast, blending classroom basics with safe, code compliant practice to fill those gaps quick.