Hispanics talk trade

Immigration policy took center stage at a business summit Thursday as the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce kicked off its first convention.

"We're not going away," said keynote speaker Jerry Natividad, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Region 2, which includes Utah. "You can build all the walls you want, but we're not going away."

The U.S. Hispanic Chamber advocates for some 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses nationwide.

"We are all immigrants," Natividad said in response to the rallies held last week, heated debates and competing legislation pending before Congress. "More importantly, when we come here, we are all proud Americans. We become proud Americans, and we come here to this country to fulfill a need — a need that was void in the country that we came from."

Natividad stopped short of advocating specific policies. But Robert Rendon, UHCC chairman, said the Utah-based chamber's perspective follows closely that of the national group.

"We believe that our borders need to be secure, to keep people out who do bad things," Rendon said. "But we also believe we need a guest worker program. This coincides with our American values: We are all immigrants. We've all come together and we need to continue to come together. Instead of building walls, we need to build bridges."

Thursday's event was about more than immigration, however. It was about Hispanic identity, which Natividad said was built on ambition — a drive to succeed and prosper for oneself, one's family, community and country.

"It's an incredible milestone, a show of stability, " Natividad said of the convention. "It is a message to the city of Salt Lake and the state of Utah that there are a group of individuals that live here that intend to be a part of the community. They intend to be a part of the future. They intend to be a part of the prosperity. And they intend to be a part of the economic engine here."

Hispanics make up over 14 percent of the population of the United States, Natividad said. More than 2 million businesses — one out of every 10 small businesses — in the United States is Hispanic-owned. As a group, Hispanics' buying power tops $1 trillion annually.

Utah's 5,000 Hispanic-owned businesses include 800 in Salt Lake City, which generate $121 million annually in sales receipts, Natividad said. The buying power of Utah's Hispanics has been estimated from $2 billion to $5 billion.