Anthony Bourdain Fires Shots at Donald Trump’s Immigration Plans

Donald Trump has made clear his stance on immigration. If elected, he plans to clamp down hard in ways that some estimate could lead to 11 million deportations. While many have publicly spoken out against these plans, Anthony Bourdain brought up some interesting points about immigration and the restaurant industry.

“I grew up in the restaurant business,” Bordain explained. “30 years in the restaurant business. I came out of, like a lot of other white kids, I rolled out of a prestigious culinary institute and went to work in real restaurants. I walked into restaurants and always, the person who had been there the longest, who took the time to show me how it was done, was always Mexican or Central American. Never, in any of those years, not once, did anyone walk into my restaurant — any American-born kid — walk into my restaurant and say I’d like a job as a night porter or a dishwasher. Even a prep cook…. [they are] just not willing to start at the bottom like that.”

Bourdain makes it clear how prevalent Latin Americans are in the food industry. He goes on to call immigrants “the backbone of the industry”, pointing out that mass deportation would cause restaurants to collapse across the country, as they take positions that are otherwise difficult to fill.

These words resonate with the criticism of other well-known chefs, including Geoffrey Zakarian and José Andrés, both of whom pulled their restaurants from Trump’s new D.C. hotel. Bordain went on to attack Trump’s hotels and style in general, calling his Taj Mahal in Atlantic City “the enemy of the human spirit”. It is still unclear who Bordain is supporting in the next election, but it is safe to assume it won’t be Donald Trump.