Trump’s immigration siege is rattling hospitality industry, workers say | Business

Donald Trump’s immigration policies are having a chilling effect on the hospitality sector, where nearly a third of workers are immigrants, according to the largest hospitality union in the United States.

The number of employed hospitality workers decreased by 98,000 between December 2024 and December 2025, according to a report from Unite Here, which represents 300,000 workers in the hospitality, food and tourism sectors in the United States and Canada.

Union leaders say the Trump administration’s brutal crackdown on immigration has not only frightened workers but also discouraged international tourism. The United States saw a decline of $1.2 billion, or a 5.5% decline, in tourism revenue between September 2024 and September 2025, according to the report.

“We need immigrant workers. They’re a significant part of our workforce. They’re my members, they’re my neighbors, and the way they’ve been treated during this time is truly abhorrent,” said Wade Lüneburg, political director of Unite Here Local 17 in Minneapolis, which represents 6,000 Minnesota workers, including those at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.

Due to the federal government’s immigration crackdown, “many of our members are afraid to go to work,” Lüneburg said. Sixteen airport employees were arrested by immigration authorities earlier this year, Lüneburg said. “These are workers who are authorized to work and have passed TSA background checks,” he added.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House have not commented on the arrest of these members by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Even as Minnesota seeks to recover from Operation Metro Surge, Trump’s immigration policies — from rescinding Temporary Protected Status to extending visa bans to detaining tourists — have led to a tourism crisis across the United States.

International visitors to the United States declined by 2.5 million in 2025, even as international tourism increased worldwide, according to the Unite Here report.

Lüneburg said the regional decline in Canadian tourism in Minnesota has led to a 15 per cent drop in total international air travelers to Minnesota in 2025 and a recent drop in the number of Canadians attending the world junior hockey championships. Small businesses in Minneapolis are estimated to have lost up to $81 million in revenue in January 2026.

“The economic consequences of what is happening go far beyond just immigrants and their families, as horrible as that is,” Gwen Mills, president of Unite Here, said on a panel introducing the report last week. “The scenes of violence in the streets of our major cities, the anti-immigrant rhetoric, the fear-mongering, discourage domestic travel, discourage foreign visitors from coming to the United States.”

The slowdown is being felt in other cities. In 2025, a record number of restaurants closed in Washington DC while restaurant openings slowed by 30%. Meanwhile, tourism in Las Vegas fell 7.5% in 2025.

Shaleah Taylor, a bed and breakfast attendant in Las Vegas, said in the report that “you can feel business slowing down.”

“People are spending less, and some of my colleagues who rely on tips are seeing a real decline,” Taylor said.

Moana Molly, a hotel housekeeper in Atlantic City, New Jersey, said during the panel that several co-workers have left because of the immigration crackdown, increasing the workload for herself and remaining workers.

“We don’t have the staff we need and no one is applying,” Molly said.

A July 2025 report from the Economic Policy Institute found that Trump’s 4 million people deportation goals would result in job losses of 3.3 million for immigrants and 2.6 million for U.S.-born workers.

But these policies also instill fear among American citizens. Greg Barney, a line cook at St Anselm in Washington DC, said there was a significant drop in visitors to the restaurant.

“I wasn’t afraid of being picked up myself, but a lot of my close friends were, and everyone, all my colleagues, whether they were born here or not, could feel that fear and that tension, and it was hard on all of us,” Barney said during the panel.

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, told the Guardian that “if there was a correlation between widespread illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy.

“Taking these criminals off the streets makes communities safer and more welcoming for business owners, customers and tourists,” she added.

In an email to the Guardian, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson cited an article reporting a youth unemployment rate of 8.9% in 2024, saying that “there is no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our workforce.”