Thread: VA: Local Hispanic businesses feeling pinch

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Local Hispanic businesses feeling pinch
By KEITH WALKER
kwalker@potomacnews.com
Wednesday, August 15, 2007


Area Hispanic business owners said Tuesday that they have seen as much as a 40 percent drop in business since the county passed a resolution aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.
Ruben Andrade hasn't lost quite that much, but said people are not going out as much out of fear that they will be stopped by police.

"My sales at Sabor Latino -- normally I was doing about $110,000 a month, now it dropped to about $80,000," said Andrade, who owns Sabor Latino in Dale City, Tipicos Dona in Woodbridge, Mi Casita in Manassas and East Coast Cafe in Woodbridge as well as Casa Maria in Herndon.

Andrade and about 18 other mainly Hispanic business owners held a press conference Tuesday at East Coast Cafe in Marumsco Plaza to talk about the resolution's affect on business and the immigrant community.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors passed the resolution on July 10 that directed the police department to arrange with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train Prince William police officers to enforce immigration law and directed county staff to determine which services could be denied to illegal immigrants.

Andrade, a former illegal-immigrant who came to the United States from El Salvador in 1982, said that if an anti-illegal immigration resolution is passed, he thinks legal as well as illegal members of the Hispanic community would be targeted.

"Are they going to stop a European driving in the street? They won't do it. You think they will stop the Chinese?" he said.

Supervisor John T. Stirrup, R-Gainesville, introduced the resolution and has always said that it is not aimed at legal immigrants.

"Regardless of who you are or what your background and your ethnicity is, if you're here legally you have absolutely nothing to be concerned about," he said.

Carlos Aragon, who owns Radio Fiesta 1480, said he hasn't seen a drop in advertising, but expects that it will come as area businesses show less profit.

"As soon as they feel the pinch of no income coming, that's how it's going to be," said the 56-year-old, who legally came to the United States 37 years ago.

Aragon said he has heard that legal and illegal immigrants who feel intimated by the resolution are already leaving the county.

Prince William Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at large, echoed Stirrup and said that legal immigrants have nothing to worry about.

Illegal immigrants are another matter, Stewart said.

"Prince William County will not be accepting of illegal immigrants," he said.

Stewart said the majority of business men and women he's heard from support the resolution.

"The few businesses who are opposed to what we've done are in the minority," he said. "When illegal immigrants start to leave the county, this will be a net benefit."

Jeff Song, a Korean immigrant who owns Casa Blanca on Centreville Road which caters to the Hispanic community, said his business is suffering as well.

"For the last four or five weeks it has been going down to a level that is starting to concern us," said Song who came to the United States with his parents in 1987 when he was 15.

"The weekend business is definitely down and we basically have to rely on our weekend operations to be able to stay in business," he said.

Song said he thinks some of the problems between the immigrant and mainstream communities arise from a language barrier which sets new immigrants apart.

"They become rather intimated and decide to isolate themselves from the rest of the community, sort of creating this superficial misunderstanding that they are from a different world, and that's certainly not the truth," he said of new immigrants.

Song said immigrants recognize that they have responsibilities as well.

"We have to do our part. We have to convince the community and the county that we are good members of the society," he said "It's a part of the process of becoming an American."

The difficulties will pass with time, Song said.

"Second, third, fourth generation -- they won't have this type of problem," he said.

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"The few businesses who are opposed to what we've done are in the minority," he said. "When illegal immigrants start to leave the county, this will be a net benefit."

Amen brother, them leaving will be a benefit to all of us.

"My sales at Sabor Latino -- normally I was doing about $110,000 a month, now it dropped to about $80,000," said Andrade, who owns Sabor Latino in Dale City, Tipicos Dona in Woodbridge, Mi Casita in Manassas and East Coast Cafe in Woodbridge as well as Casa Maria in Herndon.

Poor man, he's only making $80,000 per month. Let me pull out some tissue.

"Regardless of who you are or what your background and your ethnicity is, if you're here legally you have absolutely nothing to be concerned about," he said.

Absolutely!

"Prince William County will not be accepting of illegal immigrants," he said.

Way to go PWC!

Maybe it is Americans not frequenting their businesses.

I don't eat out much, but I would not eat at a Mexican food restaurant, because I feel sure most of them hire illegals, so other Americans may be feeling the same way. They may just be trying to pretend it has something to do with 'illegals' not going out.