WASHINGTON, D.C. – UNITE HERE today released Inhospitable, a report revealing how White House immigration policies are creating a crisis in America’s hospitality industry. The report was unveiled at a kickoff event featuring hospitality workers, union leaders, and economists who detailed the devastating impact on tourism, employment, and working conditions nationwide.

The full report is available at unitehere.org/inhospitable

“Industry leaders and our elected officials need to act to protect the hospitality industry and the people who make it run,” said Gwen Mills, President of UNITE HERE. “While immigrant families are on the front lines of the White House’s violent crackdowns and enforcement actions, our members – immigrant and U.S.-born alike – are struggling with their economic impact. If current immigration policies remain in place, conditions in the industry will worsen, threatening not only the workers who sustain it but industries, municipalities and communities that depend on tourism revenue.”

While the global tourism industry experiences unprecedented growth, the United States faces a deepening crisis characterized by military-style occupations, violent raids on communities, and the abrupt termination of legal status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. These policies are damaging America’s reputation as a welcoming destination and devastating the workers and businesses that depend on international tourism.

The report includes testimony from UNITE HERE members who witness firsthand how immigration policies harm workers across industries, regardless of where they were born. Workers described the impact of fewer hours, reduced staffing, and intense anxiety.

“You can feel that business has slowed down. People are spending less, and some of my coworkers who depend on tips are seeing a real drop,” said Rhodora Barry, a Master Cook at the Flamingo and a Culinary Union Member for 25 Years in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Even a 10 percent decrease makes a difference when you are living paycheck to paycheck. For working people, that affects how we pay bills, how we buy groceries, and how we take care of our families.”

“This has made my own job doubly hard and stressful. Especially during the occupation, there was an intense and palpable fear in the kitchen,” said Greg Varney, a Line Cook at St. Anselm in Washington, D.C. “People had family members who were taken. We all now jerk our heads up whenever we hear sirens, even in a city like D.C. where it’s common. I’ve had to come in when I wasn’t scheduled because of the increase of call-outs among staff. We are all trying to watch out for each other, but it feels like we’ve basically taken on a second shift due to this occupation and raids in D.C. streets.”

Inhospitable’s Key Findings Include:

Tourism Collapse: More than 2.5 million fewer international tourists visited the United States in 2025 compared to 2024, representing a historic decline as other nations worldwide experience tourism booms.

Massive Losses: Overall travel receipts were down by more than $1 billion in September 2025 compared to the year before.

Employment Impact: 98,000 fewer people were employed in leisure and hospitality in December 2025 than at the same time in 2024, with unemployment in the sector rising to 6.1% versus 5.4% the previous year.

The report documents severe impacts across major tourism markets:

Washington, D.C.: Following the deployment of the National Guard and aggressive immigration enforcement, Tourism Economics projects a 6.5% decline in international tourism to D.C. in 2025. Restaurant reservations dropped roughly 30% immediately after the federal takeover announcement.

Las Vegas: Total visitors declined by 7.5% in 2025, dipping below 40 million for the first time since 2023.

Seattle: The city is experiencing a 26.9% projected decline in international overnight visitation in 2025—the steepest drop among major U.S. destinations.

Miami: The Trump administration’s cancellation of TPS and CHNV Parole has had a strong negative impact on the region’s hospitality workforce just as the luxury hotel market expands. Florida’s labor participation rate fell to 57.5% in November 2025, the lowest since February 2021.

“The Trump administration claims its immigration policies are protecting American jobs and workers, but the evidence shows they are actually undermining both,” said Economic Policy Institute President Heidi Sheirholz. “Current estimates indicate that if the administration succeeds in its goal of deporting one million immigrants annually, nearly six million jobs will be lost by the end of Trump’s term—including 2.6 million jobs held by U.S.-born workers. Inhospitable shows what this looks like on the ground for hospitality workers, whose jobs are becoming harder and less secure as White House immigration policies destabilize their industry.”

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UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents 300,000 working people across Canada and the United States. UNITE HERE members work in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries.