At this time last year, Latino and immigrant entrepreneurship was thriving. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of Latino-owned businesses increased by 44%, powering a historic small business boom and generating over $650 billion in revenue annually. In recent years, Latino and immigrant entrepreneurs have started new businesses at twice the rate of the general population, building domestic capacity in key industries like construction and manufacturing. Today, nearly half of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
Unfortunately, anti-immigrant policies threaten to derail this economic engine. As attacks on immigrants are rising, local economies are weakening, with the fear of immigration raids keeping people home. Many immigrants, including those with legal status, have stopped spending money at local restaurants or stores, choosing instead to save for lawyers, paperwork, and guardianship plans for their children in case they become separated. The destabilizing effects of draconian immigration policies, along with the whiplash of tariffs and harmful cuts to federal small business programs, undermine our nation’s economic future.
