Texas restaurant owners are realizing that maybe the policies they support are actually not that great for business! Specifically, their anti-immigrant position of their Republican leaders.
The New York Times is reporting that restaurants are struggling due to labor shortages, rising overall costs and immigrant workers quitting or not showing up for work. This has led to leaders in both the restaurant industry and Texas political leaders to finally realize they need a legal pathway to hire immigrants.
About 38 percent of restaurants in Texas were not profitable in 2024, which is pretty awful. That number rose to 50 percent in 2025. How much of that can be attributed to Trump's crackdown on immigration is unclear, but it definitely didn't help. It is estimated that about 10 percent of the workforce in Texas is undocumented, which is much higher than the United States average of 4.5 perfect.
Because of the horrible statistics coming out of 2025, the Texas Restaurant Association and business leaders across the country have formed a group called Seat the Table. They are "demanding that Congress and the White House create work permits for “long-term, law-abiding immigrants playing critical roles from farms to restaurants.” '
But, do not take this request as a softening of their perspective on immigrants. That has not changed. The Texas Restaurant Association "made clear that it was not calling for amnesty, nor was it asking for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants." They put out a statement saying: “I think the vast majority of Americans recognize that there is a large group of undocumented immigrants who have been literally keeping food on our tables. And if we remove those people, it is going to hurt everyone in terms of higher prices.”
Part of this is also linked to farming. Texas has over 200,000 farms, making up more than 14 percent of the agriculture in the United States. They also rely heavily on immigrant workers, many of them undocumented.
There has been efforts to create legislation to address this, but Republicans still consider it an amnesty program for undocumented immigrants and are largely against it. Democrats to not have the majority to move any legislation forward.
When you vote for the Leopards Eating Faces Party, do not be surprised when they eat your face.
