Mercado Central on Lake Street in Minneapolis is a busy place, with shoppers picking up lunch or groceries on any given weekday.
Thursday it was also the backdrop of a roundtable discussion on the importance of supporting immigrant and refugee businesses in the state by establishing an Office for New Americans.
Steve Grove is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. He says the work the state is doing with immigrants is crucial to the workforce.
“This is important because this is where our labor force is growing,” Grove told WCCO’s Susie Jones. “You see every day the news on labor shortages. Where are those people going to come from? They're coming from out of the country.”
Grove and DEED’s Assistant Commissioner for Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Anisa Hajimumin were joined by business owners, leaders and community members for a discussion about the importance of establishing an Office of New Americans in Minnesota.
DEED is making the case that new Americans are an important part of Minnesota’s economy, representing a significant source of the state’s business entrepreneurs and large part of Minnesota’s labor force. Both now and in the coming years.
Pang Vang and her mother started a business 20 years ago when they came over from Laos. She told WCCO a lot has changed, but more needs to be done.
“The resources are there now, but it's not connected,” Vang says. “And I think an office like the New American would help connect all those resources and all those thoughts together in one place and one hub.”
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