International visitors to Las Vegas dropped 13% in June 2025 compared to the same month last year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Overall visitor numbers fell 11.3% in the same period, with unions and workers attributing the decline partly to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Norma Torres, a housekeeper at Mandalay Bay and member of the Culinary Union, said layoffs are affecting many departments. “In the housekeeping department, the people on call are barely called into work,” she said. The union represents 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, 45% of whom are immigrants.
Canada, Nevada’s largest international market, has seen significant drops in air travel to Las Vegas. Flair Airlines reported a 55% drop in passengers compared to last year, while Air Canada reported a 13.2% drop from May to June and a one-third decrease year-on-year.
Ted Pappageorge, secretary treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, said: “If you tell the rest of the world you’re not welcome, they are going to listen. Our members are telling us that they’re quite nervous, and that’s why they’re calling it a Trump slump.” He cited ICE raids, trade wars, and tariff fears as factors deterring visitors from Canada, Mexico, and southern California.
Immigrants contribute an estimated $20.2bn annually to Nevada’s economy and make up 24% of the state’s workforce. Workers like Torres, who has DACA status, and Nery Martinez, a bartender with temporary protected status from El Salvador, expressed fear over potential policy changes. Martinez said revoking TPS “would be devastating, not only for me but for thousands of families.”
