Council hearing examines how federal immigration policy is affecting immigrant‑owned small businesses in New York City

Council Members Chanel Thomas Henry and Elsie Encarnacion convened a joint City Council hearing on May 8 to examine how recent federal immigration policy and enforcement actions are affecting immigrant‑owned small businesses across New York City.

Haris Khan, chief of staff at the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), told the committees that immigrant entrepreneurs account for roughly 180,000 small businesses citywide and that heightened federal enforcement has produced reduced customer foot traffic and worker absenteeism in some immigrant commercial corridors. Khan said SBS has expanded outreach through seven borough business solution centers, a multilingual hotline, and a small mobile outreach team, and that the agency has reached about 56,000 New Yorkers with materials and events so far.

The hearing focused in part on a recent federal Small Business Administration change that excludes most noncitizens, including many lawful permanent residents, from SBA‑guaranteed loans. Council Member Salam asked how the exclusion affects capital access; Khan said preliminary analysis shows a substantial gap — "tens of millions" for New York City and billions nationally — and urged affected owners to use city tools such as the NYC Funds Finder and city‑led loan products while the…