DC restaurants face 'existential threat' over Trump immigration policies culling workforce: report

Restaurants in Washington, D.C., appear to be taking a hit in their workforce because of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts in the area.

The Washington Post released a report Monday regarding the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a sector of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sending out letters to multiple D.C. establishments in the district about their employees' legal status.

According to the letter, business owners have 10 days to respond and inform HSI that the employee has been terminated or resigned or provide updated paperwork regarding the employee's legal status. Failure to meet these qualifications could lead to fines of up to $5,724 per person for first offenses.

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As a result, some restaurants reported losing dozens of employees, ranging from waiters to managers, while struggling to fill in the gaps.

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington warned the Washington Post that the D.C. "restaurant industry is at a turning point" if the Trump administration does not address this issue.

"Many of the region’s most celebrated restaurants – from those helmed by local celebrity chefs to neighborhood culinary gems – were founded by immigrants and first-generation Americans who have and continue to enrich the region’s culinary landscape and economy," the association said in a statement.

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The statement continued: "As federal immigration policy continues to evolve, many restaurant workers and owners are currently facing challenges that affect both individual establishments and the broader dining ecosystem. These changes impact everything from daily operations to the diversity that defines our region’s restaurant industry. The restaurant industry needs predictable policies that allow for proper business planning and treat every member of the community with dignity."

Becki Young, an immigration lawyer whose firm represents three D.C. restaurants, added that these letters will likely continue to be sent and that one can expect "everybody’s going to get one eventually."

"It’s not like when those workers left that there were U.S. workers lining up to take those jobs," said Young. "So it is an existential threat for most of those restaurants."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the DHS for comment.

The DHS confirmed to the Washington Post that investigations were ongoing and emphasized that hiring illegal immigrants "incentivizes dangerous and illegal practices."

"Behind every stolen Social Security number uncovered [in] these operations is a real American – mothers, fathers, students, and disabled workers – now facing devastating financial, emotional, and legal fallout," the statement said.

Washington, D.C., was also the site of a massive four-day operation that led to the arrest of nearly 200 illegal immigrants in May.