The money will be there to finance reconstruction in Houston, but with a shortage of labor that existed before Harvey, will there be enough help to get the work done?
President Donald Trump's immigration policies have scared away Mexican workers long before Harvey brought a 500-year flood to Houston, NBC News reported.
More than 70 percent of builders reported shortages in crews and carpenters, and 60 percent reported a decline in drywall installers, concrete workers and bricklayers, NBC reported, citing a survey.
"They can't get anyone to show up for fear of getting deported," Diane Swonk, an economist who speaks with building industry leaders, told NBC News.
It's a problem the former chair of the Dallas Federal Reserve highlighted earlier this week.
"You can't rebuild Houston without Mexican labor," Richard Fisher said.
Further, when Trump's tariffs on Canadian lumber begin to take effect, it'll drive up costs on materials by 10 percent, NBC reported.
Trump's immigration and tariffs "are not productive policies from an economic standpoint," Swonk told NBC News. "The fear is they will set Houston back if you can't rebuild."
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