New Alliance Launches with Mission to Protect Small Businesses and California’s Economy Amid Immigration Disruption

SECURE CA unites business, policy, legal, community, and economic leaders to respond to local economic disruptions

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, June 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- SECURE CA, the Statewide Economic Continuity & Unified Response Effort, launched today as a statewide, business-led alliance to protect small-business continuity, workforce stability, and community well-being amid heightened immigration enforcement and related federal policy shifts.
The launch comes as California’s economy reached a record $4.25 trillion in 2025 and continues to rely on immigrant workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers across every major region. In California, immigrants make up nearly one-third of the labor force and more than 40% of entrepreneurs, including more than 880,000 immigrant entrepreneurs statewide.

Small businesses across agriculture, construction, healthcare, hospitality, retail, and other essential sectors are reporting interrupted operations, lost revenue, reduced customer traffic, worker absences, and growing uncertainty. Local business and community-serving organizations are often left to respond without aligned tools, messaging, legal education, or resources.

Convened by California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA), National Small Business Advocacy Council (NSBAC), the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, and allied partners, with legal education and expertise from National Immigration Law Center (NILC), SECURE CA will move quickly through trusted networks already embedded in local economies.

“Immigrant-owned businesses are not on the margins of California’s economy — they are central to it,” said Allison Allain, President of the National Small Business Advocacy Council and Chair of SECURE CA. “When businesses are destabilized, the ripple effects hit workers, supply chains, local revenue, and entire communities. SECURE CA brings coordination, clarity, and real solutions to protect both people and the economy.”

Regional economic research underscores the stakes. In Los Angeles County, a DEO/LAEDC report found that undocumented workers contribute an estimated $253.9 billion in total economic output, support more than 1.06 million jobs, and generate $80.4 billion in labor income. The same report documented $3.7 million in reported business losses over three months, with 82% of surveyed businesses reporting negative impacts and 44% losing more than half of revenue. In Orange County, UC Irvine researchers estimated $58.9 million in lost economic output over eight weeks following May 2025 immigration enforcement activity. In the Bay Area, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute estimated that removing undocumented workers from the regional economy could reduce regional GDP by up to $67 billion annually and reduce annual tax revenue by $8.4 billion.

At the federal level, recent SBA policy changes restricting SBA-guaranteed loan access for foreign nationals and non-citizens — including businesses owned in whole or in part by foreign nationals — create an additional capital access gap for California entrepreneurs and local economies.
“What we are seeing is not isolated disruption — it is systemic,” said Michael Browning, Insight Center. “When workforce participation drops, businesses cannot operate at full capacity, and families withdraw from daily life, the economic impact compounds quickly. SECURE CA is about aligning partners to respond at the scale this moment requires.”

For business owners, the disruption is immediate. One owner facing workplace enforcement invested in surveillance cameras, GPS body cameras, on-site signage, secure workspace protections, and subcontractor safety training — entirely without a coordinated support system. SECURE CA exists so no business faces that reality alone.

Rather than duplicating existing efforts, SECURE CA uses an “alliance of alliances” model to reach thousands of businesses through statewide and regional economic development organizations, diverse chambers of commerce, community development corporations, CDFIs, immigrant-serving and farmworker organizations, faith-based institutions, rural partners, philanthropy, and financial institutions.

SECURE CA’s initial work includes rapid-response tools for businesses and community development organizations; shared messaging and talking points for local leaders; statewide coordination among chambers, CDFIs, worker advocates, rural partners, immigrant-serving organizations, and legal experts; funder roundtables; multilingual business tools and legal education resources; and a policy platform centered on economic resilience, workforce stability, and small-business continuity.

The alliance is already gaining momentum. Since January 2026, founding partners have contributed $140,000 in combined financial and in-kind support. A February informational webinar drew more than 70 organizations from across California. “This is a moment for urgency — but also discipline,” said Robert Zdenek, Vice Chair of SECURE CA and representative of CCEDA. “We are building the structure, strategy, and partner base needed to move with strength. The goal is durable infrastructure that protects small businesses, workers, and communities over the long term.”

In its first phase, SECURE CA is targeting at least 20 major organizational networks to expand reach, launch response toolkits, convene funder briefings, publish rapid-response talking points, and formalize alliance governance using live data from impacted communities. Donations are being accepted at https://cceda.com/.

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About SECURE CA — the Statewide Economic Continuity & Unified Response Effort — is a California business-led alliance advancing coordinated solutions to protect small-business continuity, workforce stability, economic resilience, and community well-being amid immigration-related economic disruption. Anchored by CCEDA for statewide coordination and fiscal agency, NSBAC for policy and advocacy leadership, the Insight Center for Community Economic Development for research, evaluation, and cross-sector facilitation, and National Immigration Law Center (NILC) for legal expertise, education, and technical assistance, SECURE CA brings together business, community, philanthropic, financial, faith-based, legal, and policy partners to support coordinated outreach, rapid-response tools, legal education, policy development, funding strategy, and cross-sector action through trusted statewide and regional networks.

Allison Allain
SECURE CA
allison@nsbac.us

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