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Unity Will Help Economy Thrive, Says USHCC Chief

Salt Lake City—The U.S. economy is growing, and the way to keep it that way is to shed divisive identities and unify as Americans, said the president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.

Speaking as part of the fourth annual Utah Global Forum, presented by Gov. Gary R. Herbert, Javier Palomarez said there’s plenty of reasons to celebrate the economy and the small business owners driving it. The Hispanic and Latinx contributions are plentiful, he said: immigrants and native-born descendants of immigrants account for hundreds of billions of dollars of commerce, as well as hundreds of major companies helping to spur economic growth. The total economic contributions of Hispanics total more than $2.1 trillion; if the U.S.’s economy and population were whittled down to that number and demographic, he said, it would be the richest Hispanic country in the world.

“Every tax bill we pay, every job we create goes to growing the American economy,” he said.

The Hispanic population is growing in the U.S. In the last 10 years, Hispanics have accounted for 53 percent of the nation’s population growth, and is on track to claim the same percentage of growth over the next decade—and that growth will be predominantly in births, rather than immigration, he said. Hispanic-owned businesses are starting three times faster than businesses owned by persons of other ethnicities and backgrounds, Palomarez said.

“Any person running for an elected position, whether it be for dogcatcher or president, who fails to remember [the growing Hispanic population] does so at their own peril,” he said.

Palomarez knows well the journey from immigrant to American. The youngest of 10, Palomarez and his family immigrated after his father abandoned the family. Palomarez was six, and he and his family had to work as a migrant farm worker and live in a one-room shack without amenities to survive. Palomarez dropped out of high school, but later graduated from the University of Texas and became a major player in the business community with more than 20 years of experience in the industry before taking on the role in the USHCC.

But as proud as he is of his heritage, he values his citizenship and the opportunity to help build the U.S., he said, and that’s an attitude that’s shared by a lot of Hispanics.

“We don’t see ourselves as Hispanic businesses, but as American businesses,” he said. “The only thing we’re prouder of than being Hispanic is being American.”

There have been a lot of divisive labels bandied about in recent years and months, he said—old and young, male and female, black and white, immigrant or native-born. But helping the nation succeed requires forgetting the things that make people different and focusing on the values and goals that make them similar, said Palomarez.

“For the last few months, we’ve been way to concerned by the labels that divide us. … I believe that time is over. Now it’s time to stop being Republicans or Democrats and again become Americans,” he said. “We must become one with the voice of unity.”

Turning his remarks back to Utah and the state’s thriving economy and rapidly diversifying workforce, he added, “I believe the rest of America would do well to follow the example that has been established right here in the Beehive State.”