Tex-Mex Restaurant Issues Apology for ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ Controversy

Last Thursday, thousands of restaurant owners and workers opted out of their day’s work for ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ to show support for immigrant rights. Some restaurants are still dealing with the repercussions of that day.

Among them is Austin Tex-Mex chain Maudie’s. Yesterday, following backlash resulting from its first letter to employees, the restaurant issued a follow-up letter amending its original stance.

“Our team at Maudie’s is like a family to us and sometimes, even in the best of families, people make mistakes, especially when it comes to communication,” the letter reads. “We are truly sorry for the internal message sent to our stores regarding the ‘A Day Without immigrants’ protest. In retrospect, we see that the language in the letter misrepresented not only our intentions, but also what was verbally communicated to our employees about this event, and unfortunately, the core values of Maudie’s.”

This new statement is a stark contrast to the original, wherein management discouraged staff members from participating in the strike and reportedly attempted to convince employees to show up to work. 

“We understand the want for the immigrant community to stand united to demonstrate how vital your presence is to the daily life in Austin,” it read. “The people with the power to change immigration policy will not respect this point even if the strike is very disruptive. This makes the strike pointless.” 

Other restaurants didn’t have the same change of heart. An estimated 100 workers were fired nationwide for not showing up to work. One Long Island, NY restaurant let 25 of its staffers go for participating in the strike.

Conversely, José Andrés, Rick Bayless, and thousands of other immigrant supporters approved of their staff members striking.