ICE Hunts Texas Construction Workers Before Dawn
Every morning before dawn, ICE agents in unmarked SUVs fan out across Texas highways and job sites, targeting undocumented construction workers. Texas recorded over 12,000 ICE arrests in a single month — nearly double any other state. Two workers with decades in the US and US-citizen children were detained anyway, exposing how little protection a pending green card application offers during a traffic stop.
You leave the house at 5 a.m. in a button-down shirt instead of your work vest — hoping not to look like a construction worker. You take back roads to avoid the freeways crawling with state troopers. You carry a "know your rights" card in your wallet. This is daily life for tens of thousands of undocumented workers in Texas right now.
Texas Is Ground Zero for ICE Arrests
Federal immigration agents are running coordinated early-morning operations across Texas, specifically targeting construction workers. Houston immigration attorney Jacob Monty describes the tactic bluntly: "In Texas, you go deer hunting in the early morning. That's what they are doing. They are hunting for construction workers, early in the morning, like you would an animal." Texas recorded more than 12,000 ICE arrests in July alone — nearly double the number in Florida or California, the next most affected states. ICE has set a target of 3,000 immigration arrests per day nationwide, and Texas is carrying a disproportionate share of that load.
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The human cost is visible on job sites across the state. Four out of every ten construction workers in Texas are foreign-born, most of them Hispanic. Many are undocumented. Marco Antonio Osorio, 50, came to the US from Mexico in 1993. His daughter serves as a US Marine. He has a pending residency application — a receipt in hand. When ICE pulled him over on a Houston freeway in June, an officer told him: "Oh, that doesn't count." He spent 40 days in ICE detention before attorney Monty secured his release on due process grounds. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a house framer with 35 years in the US, was stopped by ICE on July 7. His son — a Tufts University graduate and engineer — had himself been stopped and ethnically profiled months earlier while walking to a meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, DC.
The crackdown is reshaping Texas's economy and its politics. House prices are rising as construction slows. Hispanic families with US-citizen children are being separated. And Latino voters — including many who backed Trump in 2024 — are turning against the administration. A poll by Equis Research found that 63% of Texas Latinos now disapprove of Trump. In the US Senate race, 58% of likely Latino voters said they plan to vote for Democrat James Talarico, versus 33% for Republican Ken Paxton. Sergio Benavides, 44, a naturalized US citizen and construction company owner in the Rio Grande Valley who voted for Trump, put it plainly: "This is not what I thought when I voted for Trump."
What to Do If ICE Stops You
- Stay calm and do not run. You have the right to remain silent — you do not have to answer questions about your immigration status, where you were born, or how you entered the US.
- Do not sign any document ICE gives you without speaking to a lawyer first. Signing certain forms can result in voluntary departure or waiver of your right to a hearing before an immigration judge.
- Carry a "know your rights" card in your wallet at all times. Keep the phone number of an immigration attorney — or a trusted legal organization — saved in your phone and written on paper.
- If you have a pending immigration application (such as a residency petition filed by a US-citizen family member), carry the official USCIS receipt notice with you. It does not guarantee protection, but it documents your case.
A full breakdown of this topic — in our guide “Your Rights During an ICE Encounter”.
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If you have a pending I-130 (family petition) or I-485 (green card application), carry your USCIS receipt notice — but understand it does not legally bar ICE from detaining you. Your strongest protection is invoking your right to remain silent immediately and refusing to sign any form, including a voluntary departure agreement, without counsel present. If detained, your attorney can file a habeas corpus petition challenging unlawful detention, as happened in the Osorio case. Consult an immigration attorney now, before a stop occurs, so you have a plan in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ICE arrest me if I have a pending green card application?
Yes. A pending application — even one filed by a US-citizen child or spouse — does not legally prevent ICE from detaining you. When Marco Antonio Osorio showed agents his USCIS receipt, an officer told him it "doesn't count." You should still carry the receipt, but do not rely on it as a shield.
Do I have to answer ICE's questions during a traffic stop?
No. You have the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment. You do not have to say where you were born, how you entered the US, or what your immigration status is. Calmly say: "I am exercising my right to remain silent and my right to speak with an attorney."
What happens if I sign a form ICE gives me?
Signing certain ICE forms — especially a "voluntary departure" agreement — can mean you give up your right to appear before an immigration judge and contest your removal. Lawyers strongly advise never signing anything without first speaking to an attorney.
My family member is a US citizen or a US military member. Does that protect me from deportation?
It can help your long-term case, but it does not automatically stop an arrest or detention. Lorenzo Salgado's sons are US citizens; Marco Osorio's daughter is a US Marine. Both men were still detained. A US-citizen family member can file a petition on your behalf, which may eventually lead to legal status — but that process takes time and does not pause enforcement.