show me the money...

What’s that you say…no jobs, no opportunity?

Say it ain’t so…

Yet arrest of illegal immigrants crossing have decreased by 23 percent this past year. A trend many attest to the faltering U.S. economy as well as the billions of dollars spent in “securing” our border with Mexico since September 11th.

The 10% unemployment rate and erosion of construction jobs that once lured many Latinos has certainly put downward pressure on immigration, but that’s not the whole story.

Let’s be honest.

Immigrant labor not only built this country, but also pulled it out of a great depression and an economy which was ravished by two world wars. However, the current financial crisis poses new challenges to immigrants and natives alike. Particularly when it comes to entrepreneurship, and more precisely – the accessibility of credit/funds to create new business ventures.

The post-recession economy could be a tremendous opportunity for Latinos, if only the financial doors were open.

Everyone knows that credit is tight, but it’s even tighter for Latinos.

How tight you ask?

Well, less than a 10th of 1 percent of available credit goes to Latino business men and women. A staggeringly low number considering Latinos will comprise a majority of the labor force in the U.S. within the next 20 to 30 years.

If you want to grow an economy…why not put money into the hands of those bi-cultural Latinos who have the flexibility to navigate and manage the increasingly multicultural U.S. economy?

Want to hear something crazy…

The current and expected growth amongst Latinos isn’t due to immigration, it’s due to natural birth in the country.

So how about we take some of the $10.9 billion we spent last year trying to build fences to keep Latinos out, and open up the financial doors to the Latino business men and women who will be the harbingers of growth in the post-recession economy. Just a thought.

No jobs? No problem. We’ll do what we’ve always manage to do…

Create opportunity.

Fence along the US-Mexico border, borders arrests have declined 23% from 2008 to 2009.