City of Santa Fe issued the following announcement on Apr. 30.
Many of New Mexico’s immigrants – including some with legal residency – have been mostly left out of ongoing state and federal relief efforts put in place to help blunt the coming recession and assist displaced workers and small business owners. That is one of the conclusions of a report released today to coincide with International Workers’ Day, which is May 1.
“Immigrants have always played a key role in shaping Santa Fe’s history, culture, and economy,” said Mayor Webber. “As we re-build and rebound from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19, we look to our immigrants and their entrepreneurial and community spirit to bring new dreams and more opportunity to Santa Fe. That’s why it’s so important that they be included in any relief efforts provided by Federal Government as well as those from local agencies.”
“What we see in New Mexico is part of a national trend,” said Santa Fe Economic Director Rich Brown. “Immigrants started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies in 2016. Globally, immigrants set up businesses at a higher rate and they do so despite facing greater challenges, such as a lack of social capital and language barriers . All of our small businesses have felt the devastating effects of the COVID-19 regulations, immigrant business owners face an even higher barrier to climb. Deepening our support for this community of intrepid entrepreneurs would help to accelerate our local recovery.”
The report, “Essential but Excluded”, is available online at www.nmvoices.org/archives/14197 and looks at the contributions immigrants make to the state and the nation – including the taxes they pay, the jobs they do, and the people they employ – along with how those contributions benefit the national, state, and local economies. It then lays out how the major relief efforts are excluding many immigrants, and how, in turn, this short-changes the communities in which they live. It closes with policy recommendations the state and federal government should take to include immigrants in the relief programs that are paid for, in part, by the taxes they contribute. The report includes several personal stories from immigrants across the state.
Original source can be found here.
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