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Leaders of Texas restaurants say federal immigration enforcement actions have negatively impacted their workforces and sales, but they hope Republicans will choose to be the “heroes” of immigration reform.

Texas Restaurant Association officials met with area restaurant owners Thursday at Cace’s Kitchen in downtown Longview, where they discussed issues concerning the industry.

Leaders of the state association are working with the Trump administration to develop policies that will protect people who are in the country illegally but aren’t criminals who work in the restaurant industry. Their goal is to create a legal framework for employed, tax-paying people without criminal records to remain in the country, helping the economy and small businesses. They believe Trump is willing to do that, too.

“President Trump is a really unique leader,” said Kelsey Erickson Streufert, the association’s chief public affairs officer. “He is not a traditional politician, and that helps us on an issue like this because, let’s face it, traditional politicians have not been able to fix this problem for about 50 years. … He’s not afraid to break the old-school political rules that have really kind of shackled us from applying common sense to this problem.”

Restaurants across the country are struggling with understaffing and inflation, and those problems have been compounded amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, restaurant owners said. In a January survey of 50 Texas restaurants, roughly 40% reported a decline in sales, a decline in job applicants or some other immigration-related impact, Streufert said.

Krupal Patel, owner of Scotties Bistro in Longview, said he has seen fewer work crews stop by the restaurant for breakfast in the morning in the past four to five months. Many of those crews have Hispanic workers. While he can’t say definitively that the decline is all immigration-related, he believes it is. Breakfast at the restaurant isn’t too expensive, so he doesn’t believe inflation has had a big influence on the decline.

“A majority of our [breakfast] clientele is either construction, roofing, lawn care or whatever,” Patel said. “We’ve seen a great drop in people coming in. I don’t know the reason, but I’m sure it points to that a lot of people are scared.”

The workforce has been impacted, too, Patel said, because of the same fears.

Bob Westbrook, a former owner of Cici’s Pizza locations in Longview and Tyler, said Republicans “could be the heroes” of immigration reform. Under the Trump administration, the southern border has been secured. If Republicans in Congress reform immigration and create a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally, they could “take the fear” away from people who are afraid to work and interact in society.

“We need that workforce,” Westbrook said. “They impact our economies in many, many ways.”

Republicans in Congress have grown increasingly concerned about losing seats during the midterm elections this year, Westbrook said, but those concerns could be abated if Republicans address affordability and immigration – two leading political issues that are intertwined, he said.

“If you take fear out of the public’s ability to go out and engage in commerce, engage in the community, now they’re spending money,” he said. “Prices start coming down. You put more people to work.

“It’s just a win-win. There is no downside to that.”

Restaurant association leaders are encouraging Trump to use his executive privilege to give deportation protections to people who have lived in the country for a long time, have no criminal history, have been paying taxes and are working in the restaurant industry, Streufert said.

“We think that would be the best first step just to create some calm and some stability,” Streufert said. “And it could be targeted at specific industries so that we’re not displacing American workers. I think that’s a legitimate concern. We’re saying, ‘Let’s look at key industries like food and construction that we know don’t have enough workers already.’

“Let’s at least protect the good people who are filling those vacancies right now. … President Trump himself has said we need something like that for hospitality and restaurants, specifically.”

One bill in Congress, named the DIGNITY Act, has received bipartisan support for promoting border security, mandating that employers not hire undocumented immigrants and giving people a seven-year period to earn legal status.

“It’s just the ability to stay here, work, pay taxes,” Streufert said. “The great thing is all that money would go toward border security and immigration enforcement. It’s kind of a two-for-one. You get secure borders, safety, security, and you get these workers who want to contribute a way to do that with dignity.”
Restaurant association leaders also support the proposed Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, which would create a new temporary visa program, Streufert said. That would create a visa program for people working in the restaurant industry, giving them a temporary work permit.

Streufert said she’s hopeful that the reforms could be passed into law. She also encourages people to urge their legislators to enact immigration reform and for restaurateurs to build relationships with their legislators.