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, as unions and workers blame the Trump administration’s immigration policies for what they call a ‘Trump slump’.
Norma Torres, a housekeeper at Mandalay Bay and member of the Culinary Union, said layoffs are widespread. “In the housekeeping department, the people on call are barely called into work,” she said. Canada, Nevada’s largest international market, saw a 55% drop in passengers on Flair Airlines and a 13.2% drop on Air Canada to Las Vegas.
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 tariffs as factors deterring visitors from Canada, Mexico, and southern California.
The union represents 60,000 workers in Las Vegas and Reno, 45% of whom are immigrants. Immigrants make up nearly a quarter of Nevada’s workforce and contribute an estimated $20.2bn annually to the state’s economy. Torres, who has DACA status, said she lives in fear of being separated from her US-citizen daughters. Nery Martinez, a bartender at Caesar’s Palace with temporary protected status from El Salvador, warned that revoking TPS would be “devastating” for thousands of families.
