Despite now mounting calls to boycott his restaurants for hosting Trump, Barajas has stood firm on his political beliefs.

When the Secret Service appeared at his restaurant, Javier Barajas couldn’t quite believe it. It was a Sunday morning and about 15 men had just walked into his newest restaurant, Il Toro E La Capra — a Mexican-Italian fusion spot in Spring Valley — asking if former President Donald Trump could host an event there the next week. 

“I thought ‘Oh my God, I forgot to write down a reservation for sure,’” Barajas, 65, recalled. 

That Friday, about 50 guests crammed into Barajas’ restaurant to hear the former president speak on his economic agenda and attempt to woo service workers with his no taxes on tips proposal. There, Barajas endorsed Trump, won over by his economic messaging and what he calls his “nice but strict” personality.

In an interview last week with The Nevada Independent, Barajas said he’s felt increasingly alienated from the Democratic establishment and finds Trump’s candidness and economic messaging refreshing. He says Democrats such as President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama (who he voted for) delivered empty promises to immigrants such as himself, promising to create more pathways toward legal residency but failing to actually do so. 

Barajas is a clear example of shifting dynamics within Nevada’s Latino population — a demographic that makes up nearly 1 in 5 voters in the crucial swing state. Trump’s bombastic rhetoric on immigration and pledges to massively deport undocumented persons appear to not have affected his relative popularity among Latinos — 2020 exit polls showed him doing better with Nevada Latinos than past GOP presidential candidates. 

Eating into Democrats’ historic level of support with Nevada Latinos helps explain why Nevada remains squarely in the toss-up category on the presidential level, and why Nevada Democrats have been eager to court Latino voters, opening field offices in areas where the majority of residents are Latinos and expanding outreach efforts. 

For Barajas, support for Trump also comes down to personal touch. In July, President Joe Biden visited Barajas’ restaurant, the Original Lindo Michoacan, as part of his final campaign trip (cut short by a positive COVID diagnosis) before dropping out of the race. Barajas said Biden didn’t even speak to him, while Trump talked to him for about 10 minutes after his August event. Before he left, Trump promised to visit his restaurant again, Barajas says.

Despite now mounting calls to boycott his restaurant for hosting Trump, Barajas has stood firm on his political beliefs, including in an interview on “Fox and Friends.”

Since he arrived in Las Vegas more than 40 years ago, Barajas’ restaurants have become Las Vegas staples. Lindo Michoacan has been dubbed as having some of the best Mexican food in the city, and now has four locations: Desert Inn, Summerlin, Henderson and one in Downtown Las Vegas. 

But Barajas said he’s speaking out about his support for Trump now because rising inflation and economic conditions will probably force his business to substantially downsize.

“If we keep going like this, I’d probably have to close all restaurants and probably keep one. I would have to fire 450 people. We need change,” Barajas said.  

Coming to Las Vegas

Barajas never intended to come to Nevada.

Originally from Michoacán, a verdant state in Central Mexico, Barajas grew up working in his father’s grocery store — an “old-fashioned” place with only one of each item. He enrolled in seminary, but after the economy got tough in the late ’70s, Barajas made plans to work in California with his uncle to send money back home. As the two were crossing the border, they were separated when caught by immigration authorities. 

After that, Barajas remembers finding himself outside a gas station in Downtown Las Vegas, crying and nervous.  

“I don’t even know how I got here,” he said.  

In Vegas, Barajas picked up a variety of odd jobs. First a stint at a “terrible car wash,” then as a dishwasher and gradually working his way up to chef. He describes those early years as difficult, not knowing English and nervous to talk to people. 

He was an unauthorized resident until the late 1980s and was granted legal status after Ronald Reagan — whom he calls his hero — signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted amnesty and a path to legal status for more than 3 million undocumented people. He became a U.S. citizen in 1992.

Read the rest of this article, which was shared with Noticiero Móvil, over at The Nevada Independent. This story was reported by Isabella Aldrete and originally published on September 8, 2024.