With the fear of immigration sweeps hanging in the air, restaurant operators and workers have been pushing back this week with protests and fundraising efforts to support those who face potential deportation.
One Fair Wage, for example, on Thursday announced the launch of a Service Workers’ Emergency Relief Fund, which will offer immediate financial assistance and legal support to restaurant workers impacted by the ongoing deportation effort.
The Trump 2.0 Administration’s long-promised immigration sweeps began in earnest in January with federal agents arresting thousands of non-citizens. It was designed to be a campaign that would draw media attention to send a message more broadly that immigrants are not welcome.
The restaurant industry, which is estimated to employ nearly 14 million workers, is the largest employer of immigrants, according to the labor activist group One Fair Wage. In cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, up to 70% of restaurant workers are foreign born, and an estimated 40% are not legally authorized to work.
With Trump pledging to deport millions without legal status, many in the restaurant industry are afraid to go to work for fear of being deported. In addition, One Fair Wage contends that programs like food stamps and Medicaid are also in danger of Trump Administration cuts, which would make many low-wage workers even more at risk.
“Restaurant workers and immigrant service workers are the backbone of the American economy, yet they are being targeted, vilified, and left without the support they desperately need,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, in a statement.
The fund is available to restaurant workers, tipped workers and other service employees targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raids, workplace closures or threats of deportation, as well as low-wage workers affected by any freeze of federally funded benefits. Applications can be found at ofwemergencyfund.org.
The fund also offers guidance to restaurant owners on how they can support impacted staff.
Meanwhile, this weekend more than 100 restaurants are organizing a Seattle Hospitality Immigration Fundraiser, scheduled to run Feb. 7-9, to benefit the NW Immigrants Rights Project.
Earlier in the week, restaurants in cities across the country closed for protest themed “A Day Without Immigrants.”
In downtown Los Angeles, rallies protesting Trump’s immigration policies closed down a freeway for several hours. Similar events were held in Portland, Texas, Chicago, Philadelphia and elsewhere.
In San Diego, the restaurant Cocina de Barrio had advertised ahead of time their plans to close in solidarity with the protest on Monday. Over the weekend, a rock was thrown through the front door of one location, which restaurant officials believe was a hate crime, according to an NBC report.
The Trump Administration has said the deportation effort is focused first on known criminals. On social media, for example, the agency is spotlighting arrests with the tagline “The Worst First.”
But in Denver and Aurora, Colorado, on Wednesday, reports indicated that ICE agents were going door-to-door at apartment complexes, demanding that residents show identification and asking them to report undocumented neighbors.
Attorneys say those efforts and other workplace visits have also snared co-workers with no criminal history who are found to be unauthorized. Here’s some advice on how employers can prepare and reinforce worker rights if federal agents come to the workplace.
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