WASHINGTON - Today, House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Senate Small Business Committee Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced the Investing in the American Dream Act at a press conference alongside Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Executive Board Member Derek Tran (D-CA), Congressional Black Caucus Member Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Member Nellie Pou (D-NJ), and Gregory Dyson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).
The Investing in the American Dream Act 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. The legislation combats anti-immigrant policies imposed by Trump's SBA last year that bar businesses with legal permanent residents, including green card holders, from receiving SBA loans. Since June 2025, when Trump's SBA rolled back Biden-era policies and implemented restrictive loan changes, including the discriminatory citizenship requirements, SBA has made 24,000 fewer small business loans than in the ten months prior to the Trump rollback.
Trump's attacks on immigrant small business owners have only added to the steep decline in SBA lending. Data released at the press conference shows that under Trump's SBA, lending has dropped by more than 30%.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and this administration is pulling the rug out from under them,” said Ranking Member Velázquez. “At a time when rising fuel prices, tariffs, and economic uncertainty are squeezing Main Street from every direction, the SBA should be expanding access to capital, not slamming the door shut on entrepreneurs who are lawfully in this country. The Investing in the American Dream Act restores the commonsense lending standards that worked for 25 years and sends a clear message that immigrant entrepreneurs are essential to our economic success.”
“While small businesses struggle with skyrocketing healthcare costs, spiking electricity prices, and havoc caused by Trump's tariff taxes, the Small Business Administration has cut off loans for lawfully present immigrant job creators,” said Ranking Member Markey. “That's why I'm introducing the Investing in the American Dream Act—to restore commonsense policies that would empower immigrant entrepreneurs to invest in their businesses and create jobs on Main Street with the help of SBA loans. Our message to immigrants and entrepreneurs is clear: the American Dream IS for you.”
“The Trump administration's policies have turned the SBA's mission on its head,” said Congresswoman Pou. “Instead of expanding opportunities, the SBA is now erecting barriers to target immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners of color. I am proud to support this legislation—and to stand up for our small businesses that bring our communities together. They are here for us, now we must be here for them.”
“When my parents came to this country as refugees from Vietnam, they chased the American dream, starting a small business that allowed them to achieve it. Today, my community in Orange County is powered by over 230,000 unique small businesses, so many of which are owned by immigrant and refugee families,” said Representative Tran. “By locking hard-working entrepreneurs who played by the rules, got their green cards, and invested in our communities out of vital SBA loans, this Administration is throwing away opportunities for local innovation that propel our whole nation forward. That's not the American Dream, that's a nightmare.”
“I am proud to represent the East Bay in California, a beautiful tapestry of immigrants and communities from all different backgrounds. Our cities were built and are sustained every single day by immigrants. Yet the Trump Administration is trying to restrict access to small business resources with bigotry fueled citizenship requirements,” said Congresswoman Lateefah Simon. “We should be expanding opportunity, not restricting it. That's why I am joining my colleagues to introduce the Investing in the American Dream Act to undo the Trump Administration's attacks on immigrants and support the people who power our nation.”
“Immigrant-owned small businesses are woven into the fabric of American life, creating a just economy for all,” said Gregory Dyson, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's (NCRC) Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “They are the favorite local restaurant on Main Street, the corner store, the barber shop, the dry cleaner, and the family-run motel. NCRC supports the Investing in the American Dream Act. When qualified entrepreneurs are denied access to SBA loans, the damage produces a ripple effect far beyond a single business. Communities lose jobs. Neighborhoods lose services. Local economies lose the energy and the wealth-building opportunities these small businesses create.”
For text of the bill, click
here.
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