A beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, in Peoria says if it weren’t for the program, he wouldn’t have started his business.
The Hispanic grocery and restaurant La Favorita opened over the summer and is serving Mexican and Central American home-style cooking in Peoria.
Customer Kevin McCammon says La Favorita has made his lunch routine better. He teaches at a school less than a mile away.
“Before this was here, if I wanted to grab a quick bite to eat, I had to choose between a chain, like McDonald's or Taco Bell, and now, I don’t even have to worry about going there," McCammon said. "I just come here if I’m in a hurry, and it’s great.”
McCammon ordered the chicken mole, which he described as "homemade" and "delicious."
That’s just what co-owner Jesus Martinez intended for La Favorita: A place in Peoria that serves what he calls real Mexican comfort food, like sopes and pozole -- a traditional soup.
“We also have burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, but this is more authentic. More of what people have been asking for, especially the Hispanic population,” Martinez said.
Martinez has worked in the local restaurant industry since he was 15. He says, the process of starting up a business was more challenging than he anticipated. Martinez had to borrow money from friends and family for startup costs. But, he says, he’s glad he took the risk, at his wife’s urging.
“She pushed me a lot. To be honest, if it wouldn’t have been for her, maybe I wouldn’t have even thought about it. She pretty much came up with the idea,” Martinez said.
In addition to the family support, Martinez considers himself lucky for another reason. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program assigned him a social security number. That allowed him to file the required paperwork to acquire the building and start a business. But the questionable future of DACA raises uncertainty for Martinez.
“To be honest, I don’t know what’s going to happen, you know? For me, at least, my brothers, they’re are co-owners. If anything, they could take care of the business,” Martinez said. "there's people that started their own business, and they have DACA, but they don't have anybody else."
The Center for American Progress, a policy think tank, estimates nearly 5.5 percent of DACA recipients are business owners. Nearly 90 percent are currently employed.
Martinez and his parents came to Peoria from Guanajuato in 2004, when he was ten. He’s a Woodruff grad, and now has a son of his own.
“This country was built from immigrants. It needs to stay like that," Martinez said. "People say ‘they come in and take our jobs.’ We don’t take your jobs. I didn’t take anybody’s job. I made my own job.”
Martinez says that’s what makes America great. If you have an idea, like a business, you can make it happen.
Nearly 800,000 people are protected under DACA. President Donald Trump ended the program last month, giving Congress six months to come up with a replacement.
A survey of current DACA recipients estimates that ending the program would result in a loss of $460.3 billion from the national GDP, over the next decade.
