TRUMP IS DEPORTING ENTREPRENEURS

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S MASS DEPORTATION EFFORT IS ROBBING THE U.S. OF IMMIGRANT BUSINESS OWNERS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS.

- FIONA HARRIGAN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS IN Alejandro Flores-Muñoz’s blood.

Back in his birthplace of Guadalajara, Mexico, his mother and other relatives sold whatever they could—hair products, food products—to make ends meet. After Flores-Muñoz’s mom brought him to the U.S. as a child, she got a nine-to-five job but kept her entrepreneurial streak alive. “From me just having to watch her figure out how to make a large batch of cheesecakes and flanes” to observing her develop “her selling points” and participate in popup events, Flores-Muñoz says, “that entrepreneurship spirit was instilled in me.”

He was inspired to become an entrepreneur himself in 2012 after receiving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a status established by President Barack Obama’s administration that delays deportation for people who were brought to the U.S. without documentation as children. That gave him a way to get a Social Security number and the ability to earn the licenses and certifications he needed to become a full-fledged business owner who employs others. He launched several hustles throughout his 20s before becoming part owner of a food truck in 2018. He now owns a catering company.

“I wanted to pay taxes,” he says. “I wanted to get a business license. I wanted to get all of the things that made a business a business.”

Flores-Muñoz has contributed to his community and local economy for years and has become an outspoken advocate for immigrant entrepreneurs. But since President Donald Trump began his second term and launched his mass deportation operation, those activities have become much riskier. “I have never really feared for my immigration status,” Flores-Muñoz says. “That has changed since January 20, 2025, because now nobody is safe.”