Ranking Member Markey Champions Massachusetts Immigrant Entrepreneurs Pursuing the American Dream at Small Business Committee Hearing

RM Markey: "If we want to drive innovation and growth, we must fight to preserve opportunity for all."

(Washington, April 29) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today highlighted the significant contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts and across the country and condemned the Trump administration's repeated attacks on immigrant communities at a Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing titled "American Entrepreneurship for 250 Years: Driving Innovation, Growth, and Opportunity." The Bay State is home to more than 91,000 immigrant entrepreneurs.

"Across Massachusetts, immigrant-owned small businesses strengthen our communities and make our communities vibrant. And yet, throughout our history, immigrants, minorities, and marginalized groups have been forced to overcome discrimination and unjust policies." said Ranking Member Markey. "The Trump administration prefers to demonize immigrants and continue its campaign of contempt against communities of color rather than recognize that immigrant entrepreneurship has created the fabric of our communities and powered our economic vitality for 250 years. If we want to drive innovation and growth, we must fight to preserve opportunity for all. Patriotism means acknowledging our full history and working to address historic discrimination and restore justice."

At the hearing, Ranking Member Markey heard from Liz Sweet, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee (MIRA) Coalition in Boston, about how immigrant entrepreneurs have driven economic growth and prosperity throughout American history and are vital to the future of Main Streets in the Commonwealth.

"Immigrants bring creativity, adaptation, new ideas and innovation. Immigrant owned businesses add to our culture, bringing new flavors, new products and new perspectives that enrich us all," said Liz Sweet, Executive Director of the MIRA Coalition in Boston, Massachusetts. "This is our American story, that waves of newcomers have arrived here, identified gaps and opportunities, and have built new businesses to continue to grow our country into the powerhouse that we are globally. Immigrant entrepreneurship is nothing new for Massachusetts or this country, but it is an engine upon which we all rely and benefit, and we must ensure that our country continues to be a place where entrepreneurs continue to flourish."

Ranking Member Markey is a champion of immigrant communities and is fighting back against the Trump administration's discriminatory attacks on immigrant entrepreneurs and small business owners.

• Yesterday, Ranking Member Markey hosted a press conference alongside House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-7), Democratic lawmakers, and stakeholders to condemn the Trump administration's harmful lending policies and to introduce the Investing in the American Dream Act, which would restore previous Small Business Administration (SBA) citizenship eligibility rules for 7(a), 504, Microloan, and Surety Bond programs to include small business owners that are legal permanent residents, including green card holders, asylees, and refugees.
• Last month, Ranking Member Markey released a comprehensive report detailing the harms to small business owners, workers, and consumers caused by the Trump administration's ICE raids in communities across the country.

Permalink: https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/4/ranking-member-markey-champions-massachusetts-immigrant-entrepreneurs-pursuing-the-american-dream-at-small-business-committee-hearing