While Monday’s economic boycott was intended to demonstrate the financial impact of Hispanic immigrants on the nation’s economy, it was business as usual Monday for many of the Washington region’s most successful Hispanic-owned companies.
The consensus among area Hispanic business leaders seemed to be that there are better ways to further the immigration issue — such as running a successful business.
“If I boycott my clients, that puts not just me at risk, but the people in my company at risk,” said Rick Martinez, president of the Germantown-based Project Enhancement Corporation and chairman of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “At this point, I’m not sure it’s the right time for a business like mine to be involved in a boycott.”
In fact, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents that nation’s 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses, cautioned that a boycott could do more harm than good.
“We are concerned that any economic action could negatively impact the Hispanic business community in a number of ways, and would have an adverse impact on all of this nation’s small businesses,” Michael Barrera, president and CEO of the chamber, said in a statement.
The boycott “certainly is helping to raise the awareness level,” said Pepe Figueroa, president of the Alexandria-based Priority One Services, a federal contractor that works in preclinical medical research. “But I would also love to see it followed up with some meaningful dialogue about what the real potential is instead of just marching and raising your fist.”
Figueroa’s company, which generated $40 million in revenue last year, has sponsored citizenship for about 30 Hispanic employees in the past 10 years — something he said will help change the image of the Hispanic immigrant community.
“They’re seen as taking jobs away from less privileged people,” Figueroa said. “But in our case, all of our people are doing highly critical research. … I think what we’re doing goes a longer way.”
A major force
» Number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the Washington region: 3,870
» Total revenue: More than $4.4 billion
» Total employees: 40,799
» Annual payroll: $1.3 billion
Source: U.S. census
