- U.S. immigration policies are triggering a hospitality crisis, UNITE HERE reported.
- The policies are hurting the travel industry and workers who rely on tourism.
- Travel receipts fell over $1 billion in September 2025 from a year earlier.
WHITE HOUSE IMMIGRATION policies are creating a crisis in the nation’s hospitality industry, according to UNITE HERE labor union. The policies harm the country’s travel industry and the workers and businesses that rely on international tourism.
The union’s report, “Inhospitable,” said Trump administration immigration policies are causing fear among members who work in airports, casinos, hotels and restaurants.
As global tourism grows, the U.S. is seeing declines in travel amid enforcement actions and the loss of legal status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
“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, which represents 300,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada. “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.”
The report includes testimony from its members showing how immigration policies affect workers across industries, regardless of birthplace, including reduced hours, lower staffing and anxiety.
International tourism falls
International travel to the U.S. declined in 2025, with more than 2.5 million fewer visitors than in 2024, while other countries saw growth, the report said. Travel receipts fell by more than $1 billion in September compared with the same month a year earlier.
Leisure and hospitality employment fell by 98,000 in December compared with a year earlier and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent from 5.4 percent.
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, said the Trump administration claims its immigration policies protect American jobs and workers, but evidence shows they undermine 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,” she said. “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.”
In December, U.S. President Donald Trump expanded travel restrictions to 20 additional countries and the Palestinian Authority, limiting entry to the United States.
Tourism markets impacted
In Washington, D.C., after the deployment of the National Guard and expanded immigration enforcement, Tourism Economics projects a 6.5 percent decline in international tourism in 2025 and restaurant reservations fell about 30 percent after the federal takeover announcement, the report found. In Las Vegas, total visitation declined by 7.5 percent in 2025, falling below 40 million for the first time since 2023.
Greg Varney, a line cook at St. Anselm in Washington, D.C., said the deployment of the National Guard made his job more difficult and that there was fear in the kitchen during the occupation.
“People had family members who were taken,” he said. “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.”
Seattle is projected to see a 26.9 percent decline in international overnight visitation in 2025, the largest drop among major U.S. destinations. In Miami, the cancellation of Temporary Protected Status and CHNV parole has affected the region’s hospitality workforce as the hotel market expands. Florida’s labor force participation rate fell to 57.5 percent in November, the lowest level since February 2021.
“You can feel that business has slowed down,” said Rhodora Barry, a Master Cook at the Flamingo and a Culinary Union Member for 25 Years in Las Vegas. “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.”
A January report by Navan found that business travel rose 13.8 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 1.2 percent growth reported by Transportation Security Administration data for the same period.
