Protect California small businesses and immigrant employees

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As California small business owners and business leaders, we share a vision for an immigration system that is fair and functional, one that sustains our economy, strengthens our communities, and recognizes that immigrants are central to California’s economic prosperity. Yet this vision is under threat. Ongoing immigration raids in local communities sow instability in workplaces, storefronts, neighborhoods and businesses. They are bad for business. In areas of our state, workers—regardless of citizenship status— are afraid to show up to work, and small business owners are facing revenue losses as a result. 

In fact, Bay Area Council Economic Institute found that deportations could cost $278 billion in economic activity, or 9% of California’s GDP. This erases $23.5B in annual tax contributions to our state. Mass deportation drives severe labor shortages, inflates costs, and erases billions in economic activity. As of July 6, raids have caused 742,492 (or -4.9%) private sector jobs lost, up from 464,970 (or -3.1%) on May 11, a downturn comparable to the Great Recession. California’s key industries depend on immigrant workers: if mass deportations continue, the construction industry could shrink by 16%, agriculture by 14%, and thousands of small businesses risk closing. Meanwhile, vital crops have gone unharvested as farms lost up to 70% of workers, and small business owners are experiencing a downward pressure on sales of as much as 75%, according to the UC Merced Labor Center. ^1, 2

Immigrants make up almost one-third of California’s population, so recent immigration raids affect all of us. We stand together to call for immigration policy that protects the ability of small businesses to invest and operate in California with certainty.

As such, we call on California lawmakers to support our small businesses and our workers in response to the federal government’s immigration policies. As these policies cause worker shortages and loss of revenue to local businesses, we urge lawmakers to invest in programs that can support small businesses, like capital access, technical assistance and workforce development programs. We also urge programs like Medi-Cal to continue to provide much needed benefits to immigrants who are contributing to our economy. 

As you look towards 2026 and prepare to respond to the impacts of federal immigration policies, the small business community stands ready to work with you to formulate a strong, multi-pronged approach. We look forward to working together to address these important economic challenges.