Economic Justice
Many immigrant workers, including DACA recipients, have historically been denied professional and occupational licenses by state law or licensing body regulations in fields including medicine, nursing, physical therapy, dentistry, and law. NMILC works toward advancing professional & occupational licenses for all.
Improving Economic Stability in Immigrant Communities
We offer legal services and resources to immigrant entrepreneurs in our state including: financial literacy trainings, technical assistance, consumer protection information, and asset-building support. Major obstacles immigrants face in their journey to economic stability include:
Lack of information about the complex tax systems and variety of taxes that come with being an entrepreneur.
Lack of information available in language of origin.
Increase in wage theft cases related to:
Tax Mis-Classifications
Breach of Contracts
“Did you know? The average cost of hiring a private lawyer to incorporate a small business ranges upwards of $7,000.”
Upcoming Clinics and Workshops:
Economic Justice Workshops:
Our Economic Justice Workshops are for entrepreneurs seeking help with their business, no matter which part of the process they are at. This may include but is not limited to: obtaining an EIN, NMBTID, Articles of Organization, and city/county licenses.
We also support business development and operation, including follow-up tax and licensing. We can also connect you to additional community resources. Click bellow to register!
El taller de justicia económica es para personas que son emprendedoras y buscan ayuda con su negocio, sin importar en qué parte del proceso se encuentren. Este taller nos permite obtener la documentación necesaria para ayudar durante cualquier parte del proceso de creación de su negocio, que puede incluir, entre otros, que las personas obtengan su EIN, NMBTID, artículos u organización, y más.
Wage Theft Clinics - Together with our partners at El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos and the University of New Mexico Law School, NMILC held community clinics that focused on providing vital information to our community regarding entrepreneurs rights and recognizing signs of wage theft.
Economic Justice Workshops - Partnering with the New Mexico Dream Team, NMILC hosted workshops that provided legal information on tax liability, EIN/ITIN options, and industry-specific regulations that open accessibility to immigrants starting their own business. .
We couldn’t do this without your support!
A History of Advocating for Economic Justice
In 2019, Jazmin Irazoqui-Ruiz joined our staff as our Economic Justice Attorney. In 2017, Jazmin, through the Corinne Wolfe Fellowship for Transformative Advocacy, began a project aimed at addressing economic justice issues in the immigrant community. Now, the work is being integrated into NMILC’s programming. This includes:
Partnering with the New Mexico Dream Team to pair legal services with organizing tactics to build power around economic development for immigrants.
Providing legal assistance to immigrant entrepreneurs on tax liability, EIN/ ITIN options, and industry-specific regulations that allow immigrants to build their own businesses.
Collaborating with community organizations, like WESST, South Valley Economic Development Center, Encuentro, among others, to provide resources to small businesses (such as financial literacy, technical assistance, consumer protection, and asset-building support).
Organizing economic justice clinics where clients build connections with others to develop a business association made up of other immigrant business owners and create a space for clients to talk about the obstacles they face and share solutions, build capacity, and create a sense of empowerment.
Senate Bill 219 built on the work of Senate Bill 137, also sponsored by Sen. Ortiz y Pino (as well as Rep. Javier Martinez, Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, and Rep. Andrea Romero), which passed in 2020. As a result of the passage of these bills, New Mexican immigrants will have more access to high paying jobs and our state will have fewer shortages in key industries, such as healthcare. NMILC will continue to educate immigrant community members about these changes and monitor implementation and compliance to ensure that immigrants can practice in the fields in which they are trained. As part of that effort, this year, NMILC has already contacted more than 13 licensing boards to ensure that they updated their policies and trained staff members from WESST, a business incubator, on the impact of SB 137 and SB 219 on immigrant businesses.
In March 2021, during its first all-virtual legislative session, New Mexico made history once again, furthering the work to remove professional and occupational licensing barriers for immigrants in New Mexico with the passage of Senate Bill 219, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino. The bill expanded professional and occupational licensing for immigrants in a variety of fields. NMILC staff and pro bono partners provided legal research, analysis, and expert testimony on the legal necessity for the expansion.
The passing of SB 219 and SB 137 into law was a result of collaborative advocacy efforts from NM-based community organizing, legal, and policy organizations. This year we continued to partner with:
New Mexico Dream Team
Center for Civic Policy
New Mexico Voices for Children
