Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Hits Constellation Brands’ Beer Sales

SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA — Constellation Brands, the parent company behind top-selling beers Modelo, Corona, and Pacifico, reported a 2% decline in beer sales this quarter, as former President Donald Trump’s revived immigration policies rattle core segments of its U.S. customer base.

The brewer’s financial results for the quarter ending May 31 came in below Wall Street expectations, with both earnings and revenue falling short. CEO Bill Newlands pointed to economic unease and fear of immigration raids as contributing factors.

“Our Hispanic consumer base is being impacted by both broader economic concerns and immigration enforcement,” Newlands said during the company’s Q1 earnings call. While he stopped short of directly blaming the sales drop on Latino shoppers, Newlands acknowledged ICE deportation raids have made consumer behavior harder to predict.

Latino customers represent nearly 50% of Constellation’s U.S. beer sales, making the group vital to the company’s performance. Hispanic spending pullbacks, driven by job insecurity and political pressure, have created a ripple effect across the beverage and packaged goods sectors.

Constellation is also feeling the weight of higher aluminum costs, a consequence of ongoing tariffs reinstated under Trump’s economic policies. Despite these pressures, the company reaffirmed its full-year forecast, expressing confidence in long-term resilience.

Constellation is not alone. Companies like Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive have also flagged Hispanic consumer weakness as a key drag on U.S. sales in recent quarters, signaling a broader trend in shifting consumption patterns amid tightening immigration enforcement.