WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) President & CEO Javier Palomarez and Chairman Emeritus Nina Vaca participated yesterday in the George W. Bush Institute's "How Immigrants Grow the U.S. Economy" conference. Co-sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Bush Institute event focused on the impact and meaningful boost that America's immigrant community has on our economy.
Mr. Palomarez and Ms. Vaca spoke personally with President Bush yesterday morning at the conference, where they discussed the importance of the issue for the country's more than 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses. The USHCC is eager to engage in the national discussion on immigration and recognizes President Bush will be an important voice in building bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.
"During his Administration, President Bush had a strong record of working with America's Hispanic business community and fought for bipartisan immigration reforms," stated Palomarez. "At the USHCC, we view immigration reform as an economic imperative and look forward to working with President Bush and other committed national leaders to fix the immigration system in a bipartisan fashion."
Ms. Vaca also spoke on the "Immigrant Contributions to U.S. Business" panel alongside Denise Rahmani, Oracle Senior Director of Immigration, and Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants. The panel approached the subject of immigration in a positive and nonpolitical manner by focusing on specific ways immigrants have benefited the American economy and expanded the U.S. workforce.
"As an immigrant entrepreneur, I recognize all too well the impact that our current immigration system can have on business owners and their bottom line," said Vaca. "It is important to remember while we are examining immigrant business, they are first and foremost American businesses, and every tax bill they pay, every job they create and every product they manufacture goes to benefit our American economy. Fortunately, conferences like the Bush Institute's immigration forum allow for key scholars and business leaders to set the record straight on the enormous economic contributions by immigrants in the U.S."
About the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of over 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses across the United States that contribute in excess of $465 billion to the American economy each year. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers and business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.ushcc.com.