Thread: Nearly one-third of CA. business owners are foreign born

Immigrant entrepreneurs

Nearly one-third of California's business owners are foreign-born

By Leslie Berestein
STAFF WRITER

November 15, 2008

As a practicing physician in her native China, Naishu Wang had a keen interest in early diagnosis as a means of saving lives. But it wasn't until she arrived in the United States more than two decades ago that this interest took the shape of a business.

"In the United States, small business is kind of encouraged," said Naishu Wang, a Chinese immigrant and owner of Alfa Scientific Designs in Poway, which produces medical in-vitro diagnostic devices for blood and other lab tests.

“When I came here, I didn't have a business mind,â€

They encourage and help them more than they do citizens....and alot only hire their family to operate it, so it's not doing much good for the rest of the American workers who need jobs.

It doesn't say they are illegal. So the point is?

"In the United States, small business is kind of enouraged," said Naishu Wang, a Chinese immigrant...." I don't know about "across the board", but in the U.S. motel industry there seems to be evidence that for some time people of South Asian origin or descent have been given loans by the U.S. Small Business Administration to purchase U.S. motels while such loans were being denied to native-born U.S. citizens not of South Asian origin or descent. Evidently any protests made by the latter have been labeled "racism' by the agency.

''American Owned'' Motels Cater to Growing Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Date: Wednesday, November 13 @ 10:00:00 EST

Topic: Society

By Jeremy Meyer
Colorado Springs Gazette
November 9, 2002

To Gary Salinas, the sign nailed to the roof of his family's west-side motel is a testament to his American pride, announcing in red letters that it is "American Owned."

To Jay Patel, owner of the Super 8 Motel on North Academy Boulevard and a native of India, the sign is a "slap in the face" and smacks of racism or ethnocentrism.

"It's very, very mean and small-minded," Patel said. "They're making a statement that is very target-specific, toward minorities and recent immigrants. It takes away from our city because it is a very ugly thing."

Two other motels on West Colorado Avenue have put up similar signs. The owners and operators say the signs are not meant to be divisive but are, like the American flag, patriotic symbols.

"Someone could construe it as being racist," said Salinas, whose family has owned the 21-room Mecca Motel for 23 years. "We're putting it up there because we're proud to be American."

The sign on the West Colorado Avenue motel went up a few weeks before Sept. 11, 2001, after Salinas' in-laws saw similar placards on a trip through the Midwest. His relatives said they chose those motels because of the signs.

Salinas said business improved after the sign went up at his motel.

"Any little edge these past couple of years, we'll take it," he said. "We have people coming in here saying that's why they're staying here...they related it to having a clean place. We get people coming in saying they can't even speak to the people at the front desk (of other motels) because that person can't even speak English."

More than 50 percent of U.S. economy lodging properties and nearly 35 percent of all hotel properties are owned by Asian-Americans, according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

In Colorado Springs, immigrants own more than 30 motels and hotels, including nine owned by Asian-Americans and 25 by Polish-Americans. There are about 150 motels and hotels in the city, according to the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

Several motels on the West Colorado Avenue strip near the Mecca Motel are owned by European immigrants. Just down the road from the Mecca is the Buffalo Lodge, which was bought three years ago by Polish immigrants Liz and Andy Wiszniewski.

The Wiszniewskis moved from Poland to the United States in the 1970s, became American citizens and their children were born in this country. They don't like Salinas' sign.

"He's trying to get business by saying he's American-owned and everyone else is not," Liz Wiszniewski said. "He's trying to say, `Stay with me. I'm American. Don't stay with anyone else.' I think that promotes hatred."

Signs often spring up during economic downturns, AAHOA chairman Mahesh Amin said.

"It's a form of discrimination," he said. "It's trying to quantify or qualify which group of Americans are better. You're trying to suggest to the public that that property is less because they are of some ethnic descent. That's not American. We stopped that years ago."

Patel, a longtime Colorado Springs resident, was a founding member of AAHOA -- formed after racist incidents in the American south against Asian-American motel owners.

Patel was born in India but has lived in the United States for 23 years and is a citizen. For 18 years, he's owned motels and hotels. He's a certified public accountant, a former team leader for U.S. Olympic field hockey and last year led an effort resulting in the city's Indian community donating $10,000 to the Colorado Springs Police and Fire departments.

The Patel name is famous among hoteliers. Of the 6,000 members of AAHOA, 90 percent are Patels or come from his home state of Gujarat, India.

AAHOA has battled the "American owned" signs for years, he said. The organization amassed a legal fund sponsored by major hotel chains.

The signs have been mostly eliminated and should never appear on hotel chains or on lodging certified by the Automobile Association of America. If they do, AAHOA will complain, and the organization carries weight, Patel said.

The signs do, however, occasionally appear on smaller, independently owned motels, he said.

"It's not patriotic," Patel said. "If you get to the bottom of it, they're saying it because the guy across the street is a recent immigrant and he may be working harder than they are. It really hurts. Why in these times do we have this?"

http://www.modelminority.com/printout209.html

It doesn't say they are illegal. So the point is?

That's it's easier for a flat broke immigrant to come here and start a business than it is for an American citizen. They get loans and tax breaks and things American citizens don't. I mean it's great they can....but once again, how can you compete when rules are different for everyone? We have immigrant businesses going with no education, no certification and some not even registered. They aren't screened like American businesses are. They don't have to abide by the same standards as the rest of us do. Or atleast they aren't checked like we are. I mean I've been in ethnic restaurants where non-citizens and children were working. My 8 year (if I had one) old can't go out and get a job seating people in a restaurant or go on a job site with my husband to do clean-up work to avoid hiring someone to do that position. I can't open a hair salon in my garage just because I can cut hair. Can't open a daycare without going through HRS and state inspections and such.....but they do. There were little stores in Nebraska where the Amish had jelly and such on sale on consignment and were told they couldn't do that without state inspections of their homes and kitchens, yet a Mexican grocery store can sell bath-tub cheese and nothing is said. All it seems you need is a business card and declare yourself a business and the rest isn't always followed up on. As far as I know, I don't know where there is a site to check if a "business" is even legit or not. You normally can't find anything out till it hits the BBB for problems. I mean we had a bunch of "construction companies" that suddenly left the area with no means to trace them. That was common practice in Florida after hurricanes as well. How can you have a legit business and then dissappear off the face of the earth? Something is wierd when now you can just hang out a shingle and declare yourself a business and it's fine. I just came across my first roach coach business the other day. They put out a home made sign something about some Taco place (restaurant) now open. LOL......All he does is drive and park till someone runs him off. It's not a chain, it's a used, badly painted, roach coach, selling food in a closed down used car parking lot......I can't do that.....why can they?

The Patel name is famous among hoteliers

It's also the same name for just about every surgeon, pediatrician, and Dr. in certain areas of Florida. It's replacing John Doe, Joe Brown, Mary Williams....etc. I guess as the common names.

I worked for Dr. Patel and just about every Dr. in town was a Patel. Seriously......even here it's a common name. They all related?

"He's trying to get business by saying he's American-owned and everyone else is not," Liz Wiszniewski said. "He's trying to say, `Stay with me. I'm American. Don't stay with anyone else.' I think that promotes hatred."

LOL...they did that in Florida too.....yet they couldn't say hello.

Not to mention I lived in a tourist area in which the foreigners took over and the motels turned into overnight brothals and crack houses. There it ment, American owned ment, could speak English and someone cleaned the room more than once a month.

Can't tell you how many advertised "pools" and it was empty or growing pond scum. A clean room ment they made the bed after the last guest. Seriously.....made the bed....didn't wash the sheets. And if you were lucky, emptied the garbage.

I like the American owned signs. I WANT to choose where I spend my money and what's wrong with that? I do NOT want to find myself in a hotel where the majority of the employees do not speak English. What is their incentive to make my stay enjoyable if they can't even communicate with me?

When I want to experience other cultures, I travel to those countries. In America, I expect a clean, quiet room with no hassles. So I see nothing wrong with signs stating "American owned".

When I want to experience other cultures, I travel to those countries. In America, I expect a clean, quiet room with no hassles. So I see nothing wrong with signs stating "American owned".

Exactly.....the question became whether they were truely American owned with old fashioned American values......or new immigrants, not even for sure citizens, grabbing onto that sales tactic.

I 100% agree with you.....each culture has there selling value....and whether or not people like it....there WAS a reputation for being American.
CLEAN, quiet and fair priced. Kind of like "family owned" ment kids were welcome and didn't greet a prostitute in the hallway.