Texas restaurants labor shortages and declining customer traffic amid immigration crackdown

Immigration crackdown causes restaurant labor shortages

Texas restaurants are experiencing significant labor shortages and a decline in customers from Hispanic communities due to fears surrounding recent immigration crackdowns, including resumed ICE workplace raids.

IRVING, Texas - The Texas Restaurant Association said nearly half of Texas restaurants report having job openings that are difficult to fill.

That leads to a labor shortage.

At the same time, customers in Hispanic communities have stopped dining in.

Local perspective:

The kitchen is hard at work at Dona Lencha in Irving, but the tables sat empty during dinner time on Tuesday.

Sandra Cruz is comparing business to pandemic times as her family's restaurant has been a staple in the Hispanic community for 25 years.

"Since February or so, it has started to slow and go down. Right now, this month has been the main one," said Cruz. 

"If people see something on social media, and they get scared or frightened, they don't know if they should go out or not."

Big picture view:

The Texas Restaurant Association says this fear of President Trump's immigration crackdown isn’t just affecting customer turnout, it’s also resulting in a labor shortage, ultimately affecting the entire food supply chain.

"Immigrants that have work authorization or even, in some instances, citizens are afraid to go to work or be part of our economy," said Kelsey Streufert of the Texas Restaurant Association.

By the numbers:

According to the Texas Restaurant Association, 22% of the state's restaurant work force consists of immigrants. 

That does not include undocumented immigrants, a number difficult to pin down.

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday, it was revealed the Trump administration ordered ICE to resume workplace raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants.

It came just days after the president acknowledged his tough immigration stance was hurting industries that rely on immigrant labor, leading to a brief pause.

A back and forth that the Texas Restaurant Association and others are trying to keep up with.

"That's where the uncertainty is creating a real economic impact right now, where we think we can create short or long-term solutions working with the president," said Streufert.

"If it keeps ongoing like that, we may be in a situation where we might have to do something else," said Cruz.

What's next:

Cruz also tells her customers to choose a takeout option.

She also doesn't see as many families coming in as a whole in the last few months.