To: President Donald J. Trump
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
House Speaker Mike Johnson
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
The food and beverage industry is dependent on hardworking, law-abiding immigrants. From farms and ranches to restaurants, hotels, and supply chain partners, America’s food system relies on the daily labor and talents of hundreds of thousands of long-term immigrants who have contributed and paid taxes for years.
This is why the Seat the Table coalition is deeply concerned about the impending termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants with deep roots in communities nationwide – 350,000 from Haiti alone – will become undocumented overnight. Many of them are restaurant and hotel owners, waiters, and chefs, or play other vital roles in our industry. Under our existing, outdated immigration system, many have no other path to obtain a legal work permit.
Taking away their right to work and to live legally in this country will have a devastating impact on their families and the communities they have contributed to for years. Food prices, which are already up 35% since the COVID-19 pandemic, likely will increase further, hurting not only restaurants but every American family. Restaurants and businesses will shut down. And American workers whose jobs depend on the roles these hardworking members of our community are filling will lose their jobs as well.
This loss comes on the heels of TPS termination for Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and other nationalities and comes only months before the potential expiration of TPS for El Salvador in September, which will impact another 170,000 people.
Meanwhile, DACA holders are facing unprecedented delays in their work permit renewals. A process that used to take two months now takes six months, pushing even more valued employees out of the workforce.
As a coalition of restaurant, hotel, and agricultural leaders from all 50 states, Seat the Table believes it is our responsibility to advocate for our industry and the immigrant owners and workers who sustain it. We urge you to maintain long-standing work authorizations, and we stand ready to work with you to establish an improved system that provides legal work permits to long-term, law-abiding, and vetted immigrants who are essential to our food system and economy.
A number of bipartisan proposals exist to advance immigration and workforce solutions, including for TPS and DACA holders, such as the Dignity Act, the Dream and Promise Act, and the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act. These deserve the administration’s consideration and a vote in each chamber. In addition, we support administrative action to secure our workforce and food supply.
Each stage of our food system has been chronically understaffed for years with no relief in sight – the workforce we need simply is not there without these hard-working immigrants. The operations they sustain employ 22.9 million people across the country in restaurants and food service alone. This is about recognizing the people who have sustained our food system and giving them a legal work permit so they can continue to contribute to our country without fear and we can protect Americans’ access to affordable, locally-sourced food.
We urge the administration and Congress to advance solutions that offer protections to long-term, law-abiding immigrants. We are committed to working with lawmakers and the White House to strengthen our borders, our communities, our economy, and our food system for all Americans.