Gonzalez to Trump: Let small businesses sponsor undocumented immigrants

MCALLEN, Texas – U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has sent a letter to President Trump calling on the White House to “save the American workforce.”

The McAllen Democrat says this can be done through an executive order that would help struggling South Texas businesses.

In his letter, Gonzalez said the administration’s current ICE raids and “mass deportation agenda” has disproportionately hurt many businesses, including the agriculture, construction, and hospitality sectors.

Gonzalez said he is strong supporter of legal migration and the apprehension of criminals, which is why he voted for the Laken Riley Act. However, he said, American businesses are being harmed by what Trump himself has acknowledged is a ‘very aggressive policy’ on migration.

“This country is heavily reliant on an undocumented workforce in industries like construction, agriculture, and hospitality,” Gonzalez wrote to Trump.

“That is why I urge you to protect American businesses and issue an executive order that would allow small business to sponsor undocumented migrants who have been in the country for three years and have no criminal record. This executive order would provide migrants temporary lawful status on a yearly basis and allow them to continue working without fear of deportation.”

Gonzalez provided media outlets with statistics showing the potential impact Trump’s “very aggressive policy” could have. He said the Administration’s mass deportation policies could lead to the removal of an estimated:

1.5 million workers from the construction workforce

1 million workers in the hospitality industry

870,400 workers in the manufacturing industry

500,800 workers in general services

460,500 workers in transportation and warehousing

224,700 workers from the agriculture industry

Letter to Trump

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Here is Congressman Gonzalez’s letter in full:

June 19, 2025

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump:

I write to request you issue an executive order to protect American businesses by ensuring their workforce can continue to live and work without fear in our great nation.

As you know, in recent weeks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increasingly targeted work sites for immigration sweeps. This escalation has started to negatively impact businesses, particularly in key industries like agriculture, construction, and the hospitality sector.

To put things into perspective, your Administration’s mass deportation policies could stand to remove an estimated: 1.5 million workers from the construction workforce; 224,700 workers from the agriculture industry; 1 million workers in the hospitality industry; 460,500 workers in transportation and warehousing; 870,400 workers in the manufacturing industry; and 500,800 workers in general services, which includes auto repair, barber shops, and dry-cleaning services. 1 As undocumented labor is difficult to gauge, the true impact on our economy could be significantly higher.

While I understand that your Administration has acknowledged the effects mass deportations will have our economy by directing immigration enforcement officials last week to scale back raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants, I fear that this may not be enough. 2 The construction industry and other sectors of the economy were not given the same reprieve. On the other hand, recent reports indicate that your Administration has rescinded and resumed these raids causing great uncertainty for businesses and employees alike. 3 Without this pause, major housing and business developments will remain at a standstill and the American people will encounter major delays to the basic services we rely on every day. The migrant community already fears leaving their home for risk of being apprehended by ICE. These actions are causing disruptions, leading to labor shortages, which affects overall business operations. According to the non-partisan American Immigration Council, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) could lose 4.2 percent to 6.8 percent of annual U.S. GDP, or $1.1 trillion to $1.7 trillion in 2022 dollars. 4 Again, to put things into perspective, U.S. GDP fell by 4.3 percent during the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009. 5 Additionally, without this workforce, we stand to lose billions in tax revenue. In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid $22.6 billion to Social Security and $5.7 billion to Medicare. As the U.S. population ages, the loss of these payments will make it increasingly challenging for these programs to keep up. 6

Like you, I am a strong supporter of legal migration and the apprehension of criminals, which is why I voted in support of legislation like the Laken Riley Act. However, American businesses are being harmed by what you described as a “…very aggressive policy…”. 7 This country is heavily reliant on an undocumented workforce in industries like construction, agriculture, and hospitality. That is why I urge you to protect American businesses and issue an executive order that would allow small business to sponsor undocumented migrants who have been in the country for three years and have no criminal record. This executive order would provide migrants temporary lawful status on a yearly basis and allow them to continue working without fear of deportation.

Both parties know our current immigration system is broken. This is a commonsense solution that moves the needle forward and helps struggling American businesses prosper while creating a temporary path for those who want to contribute to our country in a lawful manner. Together we can work to protect American businesses and grow our workforce. I look forward to hearing from you on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Vicente Gonzalez

Member of Congress

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1 “Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy.” American Immigration Council, 2 Oct. 2024, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/mass-deportation.

2 Madhani, Aamer and Spagat, Elliot. “Trump curbs immigration enforcement at farms, meatpacking plants, hotels and restaurants.” AP News, Updated 14 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-arrests-pause- hotels-restaurants-farms-aa8f503a8d6d797021a70601e6a1d918.

3 Leonnig, Carol et al. “Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids.” Washington Post, 16 June 2025, https:/ www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/06/16/trump-farms-hotels-immigration-raids/.

4 “Mass Deportation” (n 1)

5 Weinberg, John. “The Great Recession and Its Aftermath.” Federal Reserve History, 22 Nov. 2013, https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/great-recession-and-its-aftermath.

6 “Mass Deportation” (n 1)

7 @realDonaldTrump. “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!” Truth Social, 12 June 2025, 8:43 a.m., https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114670684664650262.

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