photo credit: Shandra Back
Attendees sit at tables during the 2026 Economic Perspective event in Santa Rosa.

The 2026 Economic Perspective took place in Santa Rosa, hosted by the county’s Economic Development Collaborative. This year’s focus was the economic impact of the immigrant workforce.

KRCB reporter Shandra Back attended the event and talks about it with KRCB's Noah Abrams. 

Noah Abrams: So, Shandra, you've just been to the local economic perspective conference. What was the sentiment at this year's event?

Shandra Back: There was talk of the fear from immigrants. We've been hearing about it on the national level, a fear of detainment, deportation, death. But today we heard how a fear to go to work, access health care, or even eat out is affecting the local economy of Sonoma County.

NA: What what were some of the main takeaways?

SB: Dr. Marlene Orozco spoke. She's an economic sociologist who studies the economic impact of the immigrant workforce. And she says, the key word here is stability. It's not just a nice thing to have, but essential for Sonoma County's entire economy.

She explains with the fear to engage in society, we're already losing it and without immigrants in Sonoma County, it would destabilize the workforce we rely on.

She says, we need to think about immigrants both as workers and as consumers.

NA: What did she and others say about the numbers and and impact on our economy here in Sonoma County?

SB: In a lot of core sectors like tourism, construction and crop production, immigrants are one in three to half the workforce and 33% of self-employed workers here are immigrants.

NA: Behind the numbers, what are folks saying?

SB: Samantha Rodriguez, the COO of the Individual and Family Support Network, shared that when people are too scared to go to work, it's not just that now money isn't circulating, but families are being separated because parents can't pay rent and now can't support their kids.

And Gabriela Bernal Leroi, the CEO of Santa Rosa Community Health said it's affecting the next generation of Sonoma County because many undocumented immigrants are afraid to use services, which means in mixed status households, kids who are citizens are losing benefits.

NA: Was there any talk about solutions?

SB: The speakers and panelists spoke about the importance of eliminating this fear. If immigrants make up such a big population of the local economy, they say we need pathways to allow them to participate and further contribute to society.

And there was talk we don't have to wait for federal support. Local government can continue to support small businesses and counter misinformation about access to care.