Inhospitable: How U.S. Immigration Policy is Harming the Hospitality Sector
While the global tourism industry experiences unprecedented growth, the United States faces a deepening crisis characterized by military-style occupations, violent raids on immigrant 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.
Inhospitable is a UNITE HERE report revealing how these White House immigration policies are creating a crisis in America’s hospitality industry.
“Industry leaders and our elected officials need to act to protect the hospitality industry and the people who make it run. 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 industry leaders, municipalities and communities that depend on tourism revenue.”
—Gwen Mills, UNITE HERE President
“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. 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.”
—Rhodora Barry, a Master Cook at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and 25-year Culinary Union Member
“This has made my own job doubly hard and stressful. Especially during the occupation, there was an intense and palpable fear in the kitchen. 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.”
—Greg Varney, a Line Cook at St. Anselm in Washington, D.C. and member of UNITE HERE Local 25
“I love my job, and also, I do this extra work because I don’t have a choice: I have six kids to support at home. But it’s getting harder and harder as we lose co-workers. We’re already working so hard to cover for being short-staffed, and we could lose even more if the administration is allowed to cancel TPS for Haitians. It’s time for my co-workers with TPS to have a pathway to citizenship. No one should have to live in fear not knowing what is going to happen to them.”
—Filene Julien, driver for LSG Sky Chefs at the Miami International Airport and member of UNITE HERE Local 355.
“At first I was working 4 or 5 days [per week]. They started cutting my hours in October. I never expected my hours to get cut like this. My coworkers say it has never been this slow before. There was one month I didn’t get any work at all, not even one day. Sometimes when I come to work they take rooms away from me and send me home early.”
—Emilio, a housekeeper at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle and member of UNITE HERE Local 8.
“The Trump administration’s erratic and punitive immigration enforcement policies are causing disruption across the economy. This includes the leisure and hospitality industry, which relies on international tourism and employs millions of immigrant workers. In many cases, workers are afraid of showing up to work, making operations harder for companies and placing a greater burden on other workers. In places like Las Vegas, tourism is down steeply, which will likely lead employers to lay off workers. Unless policies change, the disruption is going to continue.”
—Justin Bloesch, Assistant Professor, Cornell Department of Economics and School Industrial and Labor Relations
“The data and stories from hospitality workers are crystal clear: revoking immigrant workers’ legal status, making foreign visitors feel unwelcome, and utilizing overly aggressive enforcement tactics is bad for the travel and leisure sector and everyone who it employs. The analysis and first-hand narratives from union hospitality workers on the front lines in Inhospitable help us understand the far-reaching effects of U.S. immigration policy on both immigrant and U.S. born workers. So long as this country continues on the same path, hospitality will not be the only industry at risk.”
—Dr. Gordon Lafer, Professor, University of Oregon, and former Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor
“The Trump administration claims its immigration policies are protecting American jobs and workers, but the evidence shows they are actually undermining both. 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.”
—Heidi Sheirholz, President, Economic Policy Institute
