As Immigration Crackdown Looms, Restaurants Are Racked With Fear

In Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and other cities, chefs and owners are worried for their workers and their businesses.

As the Trump administration rolls out its changes to the immigration system, fear is surging in the food-service industry as it braces itself for a promised crackdown on unauthorized workers.

Immigrant labor, both authorized and unauthorized, is integral to the staffing and running of restaurants in the United States. In a 2024 data brief, the National Restaurant Association reported that 21 percent of restaurant workers in the United States were immigrants. That figure does not include unauthorized workers, however; the Center for Migration Studies has estimated they number an additional one million employees.

Under the new administration, proprietors and workers are preparing for the worst.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweep at the Ocean Seafood Depot in Newark on Thursday deepened the anxiety (though it is unclear whether the action, which resulted in three arrests, was part of the Trump administration’s plan). And many restaurant owners around the country were reluctant to be interviewed, saying they worried that their businesses and workers would be targeted. Several declined to comment at all.

Chicago and its restaurant industry have been anticipating actions by ICE since plans for post-inauguration immigration actions were leaked to the news media last week, with Chicago slated to be the first location.

Even well-known Chicago chefs and restaurateurs who have been vocal about political issues in the past, including immigration, were hesitant to speak publicly about the threat of immigration arrests, so as not to put “a target” on their businesses and employees as numerous owners told The New York Times.