The Texas Restaurant Association urges Congress to grant work permits to immigrant workers amid labor shortages.
HOUSTON — The Texas Restaurant Association says the industry is in crisis and is pointing to a growing worker shortage and declining sales across restaurants, bars and hotels.
Now, they’re urging Congress and the White House to take immediate action by granting work permits to long-term immigrant workers and asking the public to support the effort by signing an online petition.
“We can’t get the labor to run our restaurants,” said Emily Williams, President and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. “It’s leading to the loss of businesses across the state.”
Immigration crackdowns are making the situation worse, Williams said, creating widespread fear among immigrant communities. That fear is affecting both the workforce and consumer behavior.
“People are afraid to go out, afraid to work, and they’re not spending money,” she added.
It’s not just restaurants feeling the pressure. Hotels, farms and even the meatpacking industry are also dealing with severe staffing shortages.
When asked if American-born workers are filling the gap, Williams said, “No, we have not seen a major resurgence of U.S.-born workers taking these jobs—especially in agriculture.”
One Houston restaurant owner, Oscar Santaella of Birria Los Primos, said he’s been forced to close four food trucks due to a lack of workers and customers. Two of them were located in Colony Ridge, a community hit hard by recent immigration raids.
“Falta de empleados y falta de clientela,” Santaella told KHOU 11 News. “A lack of employees and a lack of customers.”
Santaella said fear in the community has taken a toll. At one point, his trucks were selling around 40 orders a day, even during slow seasons. Now, he said, they’re lucky to sell two.
“There were days we sold nothing,” he said.
According to the Texas Restaurant Association, immigrants make up 22% of the restaurant workforce in Texas — not counting undocumented workers, who are more difficult to track.
Now, over 970 chefs, restaurant owners, and industry leaders across the U.S. have joined the Texas Restaurant Association in calling for temporary work status for tax-paying, law-abiding immigrant workers. They’re being supported by national organizations like the James Beard Foundation.
Without these workers, the industry warns that food prices could rise, service could decline and more small businesses could close their doors.
“When the supply chain breaks down, we all feel it—we saw it during the pandemic,” Williams said.
The Trump campaign and other opponents argue that undocumented immigrants are subject to deportation, regardless of their role in the workforce.
But Williams said immigration reform and economic strength can go hand in hand.
“We can have a secure border, a safe community—and a strong economy,” she said.
Back in Houston, Oscar Santaella is hoping leaders in Washington are listening.
“We’re just trying to stay open,” he said.
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