The Texas Restaurant Association has joined a national coalition of business and community leaders urging the U.S. House Judiciary Committee not to advance H.R. 2 unless the bill is paired with a work permit solution for long-term, law-abiding immigrant workers. The association announced its participation in a July 17 news release.
The stakes are considerable for an industry that the association says employs 1.4 million Texans across more than 57,000 locations and generates $138 billion in annual sales. The coalition, operating as the Secure America’s Workforce campaign, argues that an enforcement-only approach would deepen staffing shortages already reducing supply and raising costs in the nation’s food system, housing supply and elder care system.
“Every American is impacted by rising food costs,” said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, in the release. “Already food costs are up 35% since the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts predict prices will increase an additional 14.5% if we stick to our current enforcement-only immigration approach.” Knight said the food system, from farms and ranches to restaurants, hotels and supply chain partners, relies on long-term immigrants who both work critical jobs and start businesses that employ others.
The campaign is asking Congress to pair border security and immigration enforcement with a targeted work permit pathway for vetted immigrants who pass background checks, pay taxes and meet other requirements. Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition, said in the release that “passing H.R. 2 without a workforce solution would be a costly mistake” and that America “can secure its borders, enforce its laws and strengthen its economy at the same time.”
Other sectors joined the appeal. Kevin Heffner, president and CEO of LifeSpan Network, said his elder care sector faced a severe workforce shortage even before thousands of caregivers lost Temporary Protected Status. Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, said “food security is national security” and called for long-term protections for immigrant agricultural workers. Mario Guerrero, executive director of The South Texas Builders Association, said construction teams are already turning down work and delaying projects for lack of workers.
The coalition emphasized that immigration enforcement and economic security are not competing priorities, and it is encouraging Americans to contact their members of Congress ahead of the committee’s consideration of the bill.