The Small Business Administration has announced plans to move six of its regional offices out of so-called sanctuary cities, saying it wants to be in places that “better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law.”
The offices being moved are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle.
SBA Administrator and former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler didn’t say where the offices will be moving but said the new locations will be “less costly” and “more accessible,” according to the Associated Press.
The move comes as the Trump administration has cracked down on cities that have adopted immigrant-friendly policies, sometimes called “sanctuary cities.” There is no legal definition for sanctuary cities, but such policies typically restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. Courts have ruled that such laws are legal.
The announcement came on March 7, a day after four Democratic mayors were taken to task by Republican lawmakers over their sanctuary city policies. Lawmakers said they will prosecute local officials and claimed sanctuary city policies put Americans at risk.
Atlanta City Councilmember Jason Dozier rebuffed Loeffler’s claims. He told FOX 5 News that Georgia’s capital city cannot be a sanctuary city because state law bans such policies.
“The livelihoods of small business owners shouldn’t be jeopardized by billionaires like Kelly Loeffler and Elon Musk who are far removed from experiencing the struggles of owning and operating a small business,” said Dozier. “Black-owned businesses are especially vulnerable as they have historically been underfunded and underserved and removing a federal resource from a city with a significant Black business community exacerbates these disparities rather than addressing them.”
Dozier added that Atlanta generates a “significant portion of Georgia’s GDP” and “small businesses are the backbone of that success. Weakening SBA support in Atlanta weakens Georgia’s economy as a whole. Let’s get folks to work. We’re tired of the politics.”
The SBA, created in 1953, provides resources and support for small businesses, including counseling, training, and helping businesses apply for loans. The agency played a major role in distributing pandemic relief aid for small businesses.
Every state has at least one SBA district office; larger states like California and Texas have several.
In a separate announcement, Loeffler said SBA loans would no longer be available to businesses whose owners “in whole or in part” are not U.S. citizens. The agency told the AP that more information on that policy would be released in the coming days.
The SBA does not directly distribute loans except in cases of disaster. The agency works with lenders to distribute loans to small businesses with better rates than traditional loans.
