Texas restaurants are facing a new round of financial strain, and industry leaders say immigration enforcement is making a difficult economy even harder to navigate.
The Texas Restaurant Association says many operators are being hit all at once: fewer customers are coming through the door, labor is getting harder to find, and already-thin margins are being squeezed by rising costs.
Association leaders say tougher deportation policies are accelerating those pressures by disrupting both the workforce and customer demand.
That is a serious threat in a state where restaurants are a major economic engine and immigrant labor is deeply woven into the industry. Nationally, nearly one in four restaurant workers are immigrants, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Recent survey data cited by the industry group found that 55% of restaurant operators say immigration policy changes have hurt their businesses, while 25% report trouble hiring and retaining staff. Another 37% say traffic and sales are down, and 18% say workers have stopped showing up.
Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, says the effect is visible across Texas. After weeks of traveling the state, she says restaurant owners are describing a climate of fear that is changing behavior on both sides of the counter. Some workers are afraid to report for shifts.
Some customers are afraid to go out. The result, Knight says, is a slowdown in restaurant traffic at the same time operators are facing higher costs and little room to absorb more losses.
The association argues that immigration policy is no longer just a political debate for restaurant owners. It is a business problem with direct consequences for affordability. If fewer people are available to plant, process, cook, and serve food, Knight says, costs rise throughout the system. Those increases eventually land on restaurant owners and diners alike.
In response, the Texas Restaurant Association has joined a broader coalition of hospitality and agricultural groups to push for immigration reforms, including work permits for long-term vetted immigrants and support for the Dignity Act. The group says the goal is to stabilize the workforce, support restaurant traffic, and keep more operators from closing.
Guest:
Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., is president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Foundation.
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