ICE raids disrupt Utah restaurants, fuel fear
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Utah restaurateurs are feeling the impacts of the Trump administration's ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts, according to local industry leaders who say the policies and policing are interrupting business and fueling fear.
Why it matters: The enforcement crackdown threatens to limit operating hours, drive up menu prices or shut down local restaurants.
By the numbers: Almost 90,000 undocumented immigrants live in Utah, hailing mostly from Mexico and Central America, according to the Migration Policy Institute's 2019 estimates.
- Nearly half have resided in the state for more than 15 years, and around 17% of those ages 16 and older work in hospitality services, arts, entertainment or recreation.
State of play: Some restaurant owners say their employees have not shown up to work, later finding out they were detained by immigration authorities at home or during traffic stops, Michele Corigliano, executive director of the Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association, which represents independently owned restaurants, told Axios.
- Corigliano said restaurants rely on immigrant workers to fill tough-to-hire jobs previously occupied by high schoolers and college students.
- She said immigrants are among the hardest workers, but many fear leaving home amid ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that have occurred at work sites, as reported by CNN.
Zoom out: Labor shortages, coupled with people dining out less frequently and Trump-imposed tariffs, have forced some restaurants to hike prices, she said.
What they're saying: "It really has messed up our industry, and our [restaurant] owners are just really suffering because of these policies," she added, noting it is also impacting tourism in the state.
Zoom in: Annie Bennett, who owns Annie's Cafe in Bountiful, told ABC 4 last month she's received hoax phone calls from a person posing as a law enforcement agent demanding information about her Latino staff and claiming they planned to raid her business, prompting employees to skip shifts.
Between the lines: Agricultural workers are also missing days at work, said Enrique Sanchez, a state director for the American Business Immigration Coalition's Intermountain region, which covers Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Arizona.
The big picture: Nationwide, some operators are trying to educate their employees about what to do if an ICE raid happens.
The bottom line: "If we want to continue to have access to food … we need to also come up with [immigration] solutions instead of just enforcement actions," Sanchez said.