Businesses that depend on foreign labor, such as restaurants, hotels, and farms, are pleading with the Trump administration to protect their crucial sectors from immigration sweeps.
The criticism comes amid uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s decision to exempt certain companies from attempts to detain and deport illegal immigrants in the US.
Trump said this week on Truth Social that he would target criminals rather than farmers with his immigration crackdown. According to the post, those workers expressed fears that his administration’s aggressive immigration strategy was eliminating jobs that were nearly impossible to replace, along with those who worked in the hotel and leisure industries.
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Industries in California and Los Angeles that have grown more reliant on immigrants, whether they are in the country legally or not, may suffer as a result of the crackdown.
In an apparent shift away from employment searches at hotels, restaurants, and farms, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials told The Times on Saturday that immigration enforcement will mostly target those suspected of violent offenses.
However, additional instructions from DHS leadership this week appeared to rescind that direction, leaving even its own ranks unsure of the policy’s exact nature.
Foreign criminals should be aware that this country is not a safe haven. No safe haven exists—whether it’s a courthouse, a church, or a workplace, we’ll find you. We’ll take you into custody. In an interview with the right-wing news outlet Newsmax on Tuesday, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin stated, “And you will be deported.”
The contradictory messaging demonstrates how the Trump administration is attempting to balance reaching the White House’s strong deportation targets with satisfying the agriculture and hospitality sectors.
Since federal officials raided multiple businesses, including Home Depot and Ambiance Apparel, in Los Angeles in early June, causing days of rallies against the immigration crackdown, fear has been roiling through immigrant communities.
According to a UCLA estimate released Wednesday, immigration raids and tariffs have shaken the hospitality, agricultural, construction, and other important businesses, causing California’s economy—which is the fourth largest in the world—to collapse later this year.
The California Chamber of Commerce stated that it is uncertain how the raids will affect the state’s economy due to the volatility of current affairs. The Chamber has been pushing for immigration reform in Washington but has not spoken with the Trump administration.
In a statement last week, California Chamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera stated that the current state of affairs is detrimental to both businesses and our communities. Furthermore, there is widespread agreement that people who have worked and resided here for many years without committing any crimes need to be granted a method to lawfully and fearlessly carry on doing so.
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In Los Angeles, rank-and-file workers have been impacted by immigration sweeps, not the company owners who employed them. Experts discuss who ICE targets and why in this article.
According to a June analysis by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute and the UC Merced, there are approximately 2.28 million undocumented immigrants in California, accounting for 8% of the state’s workforce. California is home to almost 10.6 million immigrants.
According to the research, undocumented workers contributed more than $23 billion in local, state, and federal taxes each year and produced about 5% of California’s gross domestic product, which is the monetary value of finished goods and services.
Key industry’ responses to Trump’s immigration sweeps are as follows:
Farms
During the summer harvest season, farmers are juggling conflicting signals over whether Trump would give them a reprieve. Families may have to pay more for food if there aren’t enough farmers to harvest crops, according to some groups supporting the sector.
According to a statement from Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, the state’s rural communities and the farmers, ranchers, employees, and families who reside and work there are being negatively impacted by the current federal immigration enforcement strategy.
California
Farmers and their employees say they feel misled by a number of conflicting messages over the potential effects of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration as California’s pivotal summer harvest season begins.
According to Little in an interview, some farmworkers are afraid of raids and don’t want to risk going to work because of false alarms that have been circulated on social media, which is contributing to a labor shortage.
It will be more difficult to get food onto grocery store shelves if immigration enforcement operations continue from July to September, when the summer harvest season is at its height, he said.
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives’ president and CEO, Chuck Conner, stated in a statement on Tuesday that he is extremely worried about how immigration enforcement could affect farms and other agricultural enterprises.
According to the statement, this is in direct opposition to the promises that President Trump made to American farmers and ranchers last week and in April.
Over 25% of the agriculture sector in California is unrecorded. Without this labor, the industry’s GDP would shrink by 14%, according to an analysis by the UC Merced and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.
Accommodations
Under the present strategy of strong immigration crackdowns, the hospitality industry informed administration authorities that it was experiencing serious labor shortages. It is advocating for more short-term hotel worker visas.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s president and CEO, Rosanna Maietta, said in a statement that the organization has met with administration officials on multiple occasions to discuss our severe workforce shortage issues and to emphasize the value of a robust hospitality and tourism industry.
The association intends to support employers and their employees while carrying on these conversations.
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Home Depot, a hardware store chain, has been the target of multiple immigration raids around the Los Angeles area. In the most recent crackdown, police are focusing on day laborers.
Economists and groups like the Center for Migration Studies, a think tank in New York, estimate that about 10% of all workers in the restaurant business, as well as the leisure and hospitality sector countrywide, are undocumented immigrants.
According to economist Michael Clemens of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, these employees have important responsibilities. According to him, they are essential components without which other positions in the sector would disappear.
According to Clemens, there is ample proof that mass deportations will negatively impact the American labor market and economy overall, with the hospitality industry particularly suffering. Their labor is an essential component of the production process, which creates more jobs in the industry. I hope that everyone is aware of that.
Dining establishments
Restaurant sector associations have also emphasized the critical role immigrants play in their workforce.
Uncertainty surrounding federal immigration laws is causing dread in immigrant populations, regardless of their legal status, and in particular situations, it is deterring restaurant staff and customer traffic. According to a statement from the California Restaurant Association’s president and CEO, Jot Condie.
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Downtown’s famous Fashion District has been clouded by the current wave of immigration raids throughout Los Angeles.
In a statement last week, Condie referred to immigrants as the lifeblood of the restaurant sector, pointing out that they significantly boost our economy and fuel our workforce.
Prior to the immigration raids, diners and eateries were uneasy because Trump had pledged during his campaign to increase mass deportations.
Restaurants like Teddy’s Red Tacos in Southern California reported a decline in sales in February following Trump’s announcement of immigration measures to carry out his campaign promise to increase mass deportations. Two Italian eateries in San Diego were overrun by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last month.
According to the Center for Migration Studies, around 1 million of the 8.3 million undocumented workers in the US work in the restaurant industry.
