Baldwin County's (AL) Hispanic business owners: Immigration law drove away customers

[trof]

Source: Mobile Press-Register



Jesse Martinez, owner of San Blas, a bakery and grocery store in Foley, says his business has sharply declined since the passage of Alabama's immigration law. (Kate Mercer/Press-Register)

FOLEY, Alabama — On a typical day, Guadalupe Pineda-Rios might sell one bus ticket to Mexico.
On Thursday, he sold 25. Since 2006, the 61-year-old Pineda-Rios has owned the Foley La Michaoacana market, which caters to Hispanic customers.

For seven years, Jesse Martinez, a 30-year-old Texas native, has owned the Panaderia y Abarrotes (Bakery and Grocery), known by regulars as San Blas, in Foley. He’s building a home in town for his wife, two sons, ages 8 and 14, and 19-year-old stepdaughter. In the past, they would make up to 1,000 baked goods a day, including their specialty Tres Leches (three milk) cake, a traditional dessert popular for birthdays, baptisms and weddings. But in recent months, he said his business is down by as much as 90 percent.
Two of the four cupboards were completely empty Saturday, with a pile of bananas at front of the store turning black.
Martinez is unsure what he might do if he has to close his business.

Lunchtime is typically busy at nearby Margarita’s, owned by Robert Iniguez and his wife, Margarita, the restaurant’s namesake.
They serve authentic Mexican cuisine, which their daughter Elizabeth Iniguez, says is hard to find elsewhere in southwest Alabama.
But at noon Saturday, only one table was occupied.
Most of the regulars who have left were friends, she said.
While the family hasn’t noticed an increase in police activity since Gov. Robert Bentley signed the immigration law in June, Elizabeth Iniguez said they might have to leave the state as well.
They have thought about opening a market in Mississippi.

Read more: http://blog.al.com/live/2011/10/baldwins_hispanic_business_own.html

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Foley, Alabama...my home town.
:-(

Wonder how much sales tax revenue our town will lose due to this repug state legislature and governor's clusterf*ck?

And the beat goes on...
:eyes:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. With so much home skuling going on, they

Will Never out 2 and 2 together to figure out how this law screwed the entire state.

[Stuckinthebush]

2. That was the plan, Trof

Its happening in Bham too.

That is exactly what the bigots want. They want both legal and illegal Hispanics to leave the state.

This state is so messed up....and screwed.

[caseymoz]

3. Another ethnic group, another generation is reminded to never vote Republican.

It's like they remind minorities not to do it, especially African-Americans, every generation. It looks like they will continue doing it every generation as long as the GOP exists. The hilarious thing is, Repubs are never aware that they do it, always forgive (themselves) and forget they did it, and then always chide minorities for being so "closed-minded," unlike say, that paragon of open-mindendness, Clarence Thomas.

Irony runs deep through the "Party of Lincoln."

[apnu]

5. Good point and particularly stupid for the GOP because...

... birth rates in the hispanic demographic are expanding, while rates for African Americans and whites are declining. If Hispanics are reminded not to vote Republican, as well as African Americans they are dooming the party to be that of old, cranky white people.

This is a golden opportunity for the Democrats to pick up and keep the hispanic vote for generations. I've been saying that since Bush's attempts at immigration "reform" and its still true today.

[caseymoz]

9. It's the white-flight party.

And I don't think it can fix that no matter what the demographics are. If it becomes more ethnically friendly, the whites will find a convenient, non-racist excuse to bolt to a party further to the right. By then, if there are any ethnic groups that want the husk, they'd have to change the name to bury its legacy.

[Harmony Blue]

4. This will pretty much crush the southern state economies if other states

follow through with this shenanigans.

[LuckyLib]

6. All over America Latino businesses are revitalizing small and rural communities.

After Wal-Mart and a declining rural economy closed down many "Main Streets", Latino folks began small businesses to serve the community. The short sightedness of these Georgia/Alabama idiots is amazing. Unfortunately, that racist disease spreads.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lions_fan]

8. Link to that study

:tinfoilhat:

[Vogon_Glory]

10. Tea-sperity

This sort of cr@p is part and parcel of Tea Party "tea-sperity"--closed businesses, rising unemployment, and rampant poverty.