New Report Shows Immigrant Texans Held are Vital to the Food and Agriculture Industry in Texas

New research from the American Immigration Council underscores the crucial role that immigrants play in Texas’ food sectors, including agriculture. The new report, From Field to Fork: The Economic Impact of Immigrants on Texas’ Food Industry, was prepared in partnership with Texans for Economic Growth, a statewide 160+ member business coalition powered by the American Immigration Council. The report focuses on the state of Texas, with a spotlight on the Houston Metro Area.  

The report was publicly released in collaboration with multiple Texas-based partners at an event hosted by Amegy Bank. The regional event served to showcase the findings of the report and discuss the impact of immigration on Texas’ food industry with local leaders. The May 21 event featured a discussion with business and civic leaders about how Texas can act on this topic.  

“Texas’ agriculture and food industries are a cornerstone of our state’s economy, generating more than $102 billion in economic output and supporting communities across every region of Texas,” says Chelsie Kramer, Texas State Organizer for the American Immigration Council and Texans for Economic Growth. “This report underscores something Texas employers and community leaders already know firsthand: immigrants are essential to keeping our food system moving.  The report also highlights the reality that 14.5 percent of Texas’ food workers and 13.5 percent of the state’s agricultural workforce are undocumented immigrants, reinforcing that workforce stability and practical policy conversations are critical to the long-term strength and competitiveness of Texas’ food economy.” 

“Texas restaurants are built by people who work hard, serve their neighbors and help make our communities stronger. Immigrant workers have long been part of that story, not only in restaurant kitchens and dining rooms, but across the farms, suppliers and small businesses that make our food system work,” says Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. “This report is an important reminder that practical workforce solutions do exist that would protect local businesses, keep food costs in check and preserve the hospitality that defines communities across Texas.” 

“This report provides crucial data on the essential role that immigrants play to power the American food system via Texas, from farms to restaurants,” says Anne McBride, Vice President of Impact at the James Beard Foundation. “These two sectors cannot exist without the other and face similar challenges when it comes to our immigrant entrepreneurs and workers, which is why the James Beard Foundation is thrilled to partner on the release of this important work.” 

“This report highlights a reality Texas employers know well: immigrant workers are essential to the strength, stability, and competitiveness of our agricultural and food economy. As Texas continues to grow, maintaining a dependable workforce will remain critical to supporting our producers, businesses, and consumers alike,” noted Justin Yancy, President & CEO of Texas Business Leadership Council, a statewide network of senior business leaders. 

Key Findings

• Across the Texas food sector, 400,500 immigrant workers make up nearly one-quarter (24.9 percent) of the workforce, contributing to industries including, agriculture, food processing, food wholesale trade, food retail trade, and food services. Beyond farms and ranches, immigrants are essential across the broader food supply chain. These interconnected industries rely on immigrant labor to move food from production to consumers.  
• Immigrant workers in Texas’ hold a wide range of immigration statuses. About one-fifth of workers in the food sector are naturalized citizens, while 14.5 percent were undocumented, including 20,100 DACA-eligible individuals. The state’s reliance on workers with a range of immigration statuses across the food industry means that shifts in immigration policy acutely affect workforce stability and the continuity of food production and distribution. 
• In 2024, agriculture, food processing, and food services generated $102.6 billion in economic output in Texas. The state exports $6.5 billion worth of agricultural commodities annually and is responsible for a sizable share of the United States’ agricultural exports. 
• Immigrant workers fill key occupations across the food sector. They comprised 47.8 percent of miscellaneous agricultural workers, 31.7 percent of cooks, and 24.6 percent of cashiers. Farms, restaurants, and grocery stores rely on immigrants to staff key frontline positions. 
• In 2024, agriculture and food services generated approximately $2.7 million in GDP in the Houston Metropolitan Area, and immigrants comprised over one-third (34.3 percent) of the workforce in the food sector. 

Read the full factsheet to learn more.   

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About the American Immigration Council 

The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and Twitter @immcouncil.   

About Texans for Economic Growth 

Texans for Economic Growth is a coalition of more than 145 Texas business leaders and associations dedicated to recognizing and supporting immigrants’ positive impact on the Texas economy as business owners, taxpayers, and consumers. With its launch on February 26, 2019, the coalition released the Texas Compact on Immigration, a set of principles signed by more than 145 Texas business leaders and groups to guide the immigration discussion at the state and federal levels. Texans for Economic Growth supports common-sense federal immigration reforms and statewide policies that recognize the valuable contributions immigrants make to the state. Learn more at txcompact.org. 

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