Local food and hospitality leaders are demanding immigrant work permits to address severe labor shortages

Community advocates gathered at the James Beard award-winning Myriel in St. Paul to share how this year's immigration enforcement has driven up food prices, strained small businesses, and caused widespread instability for essential workers.

"Work site enforcement in rural areas is straining agriculture workforce, causing farm workers to stay home out of fear, and there's no slack left," says James O’Neill with the American Business Immigration Coalition. "If labor is cut, production is cut, and demand for food isn't going anywhere, and that causes prices for consumers to go up."

Advocates say that easing the work permit process is only the first step toward repairing the industry-wide damage caused by Operation Metro Surge.

They gathered to launch the "Keep Food on the Table Tour," sharing the impact that that immigration enforcement and a lack of legal work permits have had on operational costs, causing a staffing crises.

"But all I'm asking is for dads like Luis, dads like Ralphie, dads like Jabby, like the guys, the men who work for us, and all they're trying to do," co-owner of Union Hmong Kitchen Yia Vang adds. "It's to provide something more for their children."

The coalition says they plans to hold more forums all year long to advocate for several related federal policy changes.