How Restaurants Hire Undocumented Workers
According to a 2008 Pew report, undocumented workers make up at least 10 percent of the hospitality industry and 13 percent of the agriculture industry (though these are estimates and are likely underrepresented — as Eater reported last year, over 20 percent of all cooks could be undocumented). Just one day without immigrants cost the restaurant industry a huge hit to its profits, and some experts predict that without undocumented labor, the price of food will increase up to six percent... or worse, that there won’t be enough food for us all to eat due to labor shortages.
