National Journal
By Juleyka Lantigua-Williams
August 4, 2015
After
celebrity chef José Andrés decided to cancel plans to open a restaurant
at a new Trump property, the presidential candidate filed a lawsuit
last week. He wants $10
million in damages from Andrés, arguing the chef breached his contract
by refusing to go through with the planned eatery.
But
Trump should be wary of Latino business power. Andrés essentially
serves as a stand-in for the millions of Latino business owners who
constitute 20 percent of all
business owners in the country. By singling out Andrés, Trump might
have put hot peppers in his mouth.
In
the days following Trump's comments about undocumented immigrants and
Mexicans in his launch for the presidency, Andrés lambasted the
billionaire.
"Donald
Trump's recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for
my company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish
restaurant in Trump
International's upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.," Andrés said in
July.
"More
than half my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests," he added.
"And, as a proud Spanish and recently nationalized citizen myself, I
believe that every human
being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status."
The
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which has more than 200 local
chambers and business associations around the country, and Geoscape's
2014 report on Latino businesses
provide some idea of the opponent Trump might be up against.
There
were 2.26 million Latino-owned businesses in 2014. They are projected
to grow to 3.22 million in 2015, which equals 43 percent growth since
2007—more than double
the growth rate of all U.S. firms.
Total receipts for these businesses in 2014 was projected at $486 billion.
The
report asserts that "as the non-Hispanic white population ages,
retires, and depends on Social Security and pensions, Hispanic
entrepreneurs will begin to bear more
of the burden to thrust the economy forward."
If
small and medium Latino-owned enterprises start to move away from doing
business with Trump—like other major companies have recently—the
businessman could be adversely
affected where it matters most: his corporate bottom line.
What's
more, his ambitious goal of being "the greatest jobs president that God
ever created" will be impossible to accomplish without that 20 percent
of businesses owned
by Latinos.
Additionally,
if many of the owners of those businesses—who are affluent and
therefore the type of clientele Trump entities covet—start to boycott
his hotels, casinos,
and luxury high-rises, he may have a lot of explaining to do during
shareholder meetings. About 30 percent of Latinos who are small-business
owners earn $100,000 or more in household income.
Trump
likes being in the limelight, but picking this fight with Andrés might
have put him in the bull's eye for millions of Latino business owners.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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