14 February 27 - March 5, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ‘A Very Scary Moment’ The dark reality of immigration changes for small businesses in Dallas. BY CHLOE SMITH “W hen I was a kid, I remem- ber my mom and my dad always knew that depor- tation was a possibility before they became citi- zens,” Cindy Pedraza recalls, her voice shaky as she reflects on her parent’s journey from a small desert town in Mexico to the United States. “My mom had a babysitter, and she had to trust that the babysitter could keep me until she could get back to me, you know?” Decades later, Pedraza, co-owner of Co- coAndré Chocolatier, now watches as the same fears she and her family experienced not too long ago return, only this time for many others. “It’s really hard to think that people are thinking like that again,” she says, breaking down into tears. The Trump administration’s new im- migration orders have brought mass de- portations, protests and ICE raids into the public eye like never before. In Texas, where approximately 1.6 million unau- thorized immigrants live, the second- highest number in the U.S., such changes are monumental. “These people are going to be gone — these are people that are family, friends, em- ployees,” Cindy said. “How do you fix a country when there’s going to be so many voids all over the United States?” Amid these drastic shifts, three immi- grant-owned businesses in Dallas all said the same: people are scared. CocoAndré Chocolatier CocoAndré is a Mexican-American choco- late shop in Dallas that combines traditional European techniques with Mexican flavors to create a unique chocolate experience. Cindy runs CocoAndré alongside her mother, Andrea Pedraza, who immigrated to the U.S. in her 20s to seek a better life. Andrea worked as a seamstress for 14 years before becoming a chocolatier. She quickly be- came head of production at a local chocolate company, and after 25 years there, opened Co- coAndré with her daughter. The duo has been at it for 15 years, forging strong, vibrant con- nections with their Dallas community. When asked how people are feeling about the recent immigration changes, though, Cindy’s mood changed. “It’s just so much fear right now,” she said. “And you’re trying not to project it onto your kids and to your staff, but we’re scared.” For many, uncertainty surrounding Trump’s new immigration policies and their ultimate outcomes fuels this widespread fear. “That’s really the biggest impediment to understanding how this is going to affect the economy,” said Pia Orrenius, a senior labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and expert on Mexico-U.S. migration. “We don’t know really on what scale this is going to be executed.” Since returning to office, Trump has im- plemented sweeping immigration reforms, from deploying armed forces at the border to restricting refugee admissions and penal- izing sanctuary jurisdictions. His adminis- tration has also rescinded dozens of Biden-era policies, marking one of the most significant shifts in U.S. immigration policy in recent history. Orrenius notes that it’s difficult to deter- mine whether these policy changes signal a fundamental shift or merely a course correc- tion, considering the high volume of individ- uals allowed entry during the previous administration. “I mean, it’s a big deal,” she said. “But what happened under the Biden administra- tion was also a huge deal. We’ve never seen anything like that. And now, obviously, there has to be some normalization.” Why It Matters With foreign-born workers accounting for 22% of Texas’ labor force — 8% of whom are unauthorized — new immigration policies could leave critical industries like construc- tion, agriculture and hospitality vulnerable. Rachel Moran, a law professor at Texas A&M University, says that cities like Dallas, which rely heavily on immigrant labor, could feel the effects most. “Labor shortages could have broader im- pacts on the population,” she said. “An in- crease in construction costs could delay or eliminate projects. This is a particularly im- portant consequence, given that Dallas has been growing rapidly. Building homes, of- fices and other facilities will be key to ensur- ing a high quality of life.” Moran says heightened enforcement fears could push many Dallas immigrant en- trepreneurs to shut down or leave their busi- nesses altogether. “Immigrants’ businesses often cater to clientele in immigrant communities,” she said. “If customers become afraid to pa- tronize local businesses or decide to relo- cate, there could be a serious hit to the bottom line.” Orrenius also points out that while fewer immigrants may alleviate job competition in some sectors, the overall economic conse- quences could be negative, citing research on the effect of past mass deportations in communities that saw significant immigrant departures. “In those local areas, actually, they had less job growth, and less businesses did well,” she says. “If you deport a lot of people, you’re losing not just workers, you’re also losing consumers, and consumers add ag- gregate demand.” Even though they are all fully documented American citizens, the Pedraza family knows ICE could still target them at any moment. “It’s going back to that mindset where you are trying to teach your family and friends how to protect themselves,” Cindy says. They’ve already started taking precau- tions, such as printing citizenship cards and carrying passports everywhere they go. Cindy even stored her daughter’s passport on her daughter’s phone, just in case. “She’s 11,” she said. “She shouldn’t have to worry about or even know or deal with that kind of thought.” A letter from her daughter’s school also reassured parents that the school “won’t open their doors to ICE” nor “let Alison McLean | CITY OF ATE | t Dish >> p15 Alison McLean Cindy Pedraza (left) and her mother, Andrea Pedraza, run CocoAndré says fear is rampant. Alfonso Vera immigrated to Dallas from Mexico and first worked at a Neiman Marcus bakery before opening Vera’s Bakery.
