Immigration Crackdown Linked to Almost 100,000 Hospitality Job Losses and Tourism Slump: ‘Nobody’s Applying’
Nearly 98,000 hospitality jobs disappeared between December 2024 and December 2025, international visitors to the United States fell by 2.5 million, and tourism revenue dropped $1.2 billion, according to a report by Unite Here, the US’s largest hospitality workers’ union.
The findings come as immigration enforcement policies coincide with workforce losses and declining travel activity in sectors that rely heavily on immigrant labor.
Unite Here, which represents 300,000 workers across hospitality, food and tourism in the U.S. and Canada, reports that immigrants make up close to one-third of hospitality workers. Union officials told The Guardian that enforcement actions have discouraged employees from showing up and reduced tourism demand.
“Many of our members have been afraid to go to work,” said Wade Lüneburg of Unite Here Local 17, noting that 16 airport workers were detained earlier this year despite authorization to work and having passed TSA background checks.
The union also reported regional effects. Canadian travel declines contributed to a 15 percent drop in international air passengers to Minnesota in 2025, and Minneapolis businesses lost up to $81 million in January 2026.
In Las Vegas, tourism fell 7.5 percent in 2025, and Washington, D.C., saw a record number of restaurant closures while openings slowed by 30 percent. “You can feel that business has slowed down,” said hotel worker Shaleah Taylor to the news outler while Atlantic City housekeeper Moana Molly said staffing shortages have worsened as co-workers left: “we don’t have the staffing that we need and nobody’s applying.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson justified enforcement to The Guardian that removing criminals “makes communities safer and more welcoming for business owners, customers, and for tourists,” while a White House spokesperson said there is “no shortage of American minds and hands to grow our labor force.”
Reports from other industries describe similar labor disruptions. In South Texas, builders recently told The Wall Street Journal that repeated immigration raids have left projects idle and workers unwilling to return. “You can pay me whatever you want, but I’m not going to go work there,” one contractor quoted a worker as saying.
Local estimates indicate residential construction activity in one county fell about 30 percent, while a concrete supplier reported a 60 percent decline in usage before filing for bankruptcy.
Some states also stand ot bare a larger part of the impact. Economic research cited by CNBC back in September found expanded deportations could reduce California’s GDP by as much as $278 billion, with agriculture, construction and hospitality among the most exposed sectors.
Originally published on Latin Times
