S.B. 4 is a Threat To The Business Climate In Texas

by Sharon Garcia September 07, 2017

For Immediate Release: September 7th, 2017

SAN ANTONIO, TX– NALCAB – National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders opposes Texas Senate Bill 4, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, and applauds the injunction put in place by a federal judge preventing its implementation.

NALCAB Executive Director Noel Poyo stated, “S.B. 4 is a threat to the business climate in Texas by signaling to immigrants that they are unwelcome. We are already seeing that the anti-immigrant climate is slowing economic activity in industries including construction and agriculture and in many small businesses, all of which are key to the Texas economy.”

S.B. 4 makes racial profiling permissible under the law by allowing law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of individuals they suspect to be in the country without authorization. The law also requires local jurisdictions to comply with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, and threatens criminal penalties for local law enforcement officers who fail to comply.

“Latino immigrants played a central role in cleaning up and rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Who does Governor Abbott think is going to rebuild Houston after Harvey?”

The economic contributions of immigrant to Texas are enormous. Immigrants comprised 21.3% of Texas’ workforce in 2013, or 2.8 million workers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And immigrants accounted for 21% of total economic output in the Houston metropolitan area and 16% of economic output in the Dallas metropolitan area as of 2007, according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute. If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Texas, the state would lose $69.3 billion in economic activity, $30.8 billion in gross state product, and approximately 403,174 jobs, even accounting for adequate market adjustment time, according to a report by the Perryman Group.

“Not only does this law run contrary to the great spirit of this country, but it weakens economic opportunity in communities across the state. NALCAB strongly opposes this damaging law,” Poyo concluded.

NALCAB represents and serves a geographically and ethnically diverse group of more than 130 organizations that build assets and economic opportunity in more than 40 states and DC, include real estate developers, business lenders, economic development corporations, credit unions, and community development financial institutions (CDFIs).