LINCOLN — The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce has formed a Latino business advisory group and this week held its first “Latino Connect” gathering, which organizers said drew more than 150 people.

Jason Ball, chamber president and CEO, said the focus is on connecting Latino-owned businesses in the Capital City with resources so they can grow.

He said the chamber has hired a bilingual staff member who will help the effort, but he said the program and gatherings are to be shaped by leaders of the community.

Ball, a guest speaker at a Las Voces Nebraska meeting this week, told those attending that representatives of the Lincoln chamber had visited other Latino-focused business groups in Nebraska, including Fremont, to gather insight.

“This is an important demographic group we need to engage with,” he said in an interview. “We are super excited.”

The chamber’s efforts will include podcasts and several meetings and events throughout the year, which will be open to all.

During the Las Voces meeting, Ball was asked about the chamber’s position related to the immigrant workforce. Las Voces, a Latino advocacy group, has organized meetings recently to help the immigrant and Hispanic community prepare for immigration-related crackdowns or possible mass deportations under an administration led by President-elect Donald Trump.

Ball said the chamber’s positions and policy objectives are stated on its website, and haven’t wavered.

Up to 80,000 jobs are open across the state, Ball said. International migration, he said, has got to play a part in filling jobs, along with talent recruitment from other states and growth within Nebraska.

“If we’re going to see the kind of economic growth that we know Nebraska can achieve, part of that is going to have to be bringing in workforce from other nations,” Ball said. “That is not a political statement, that is more of a mathematical consideration.”

Ball said he has relayed the chamber’s position to Nebraska’s congressional delegation, which he said is focused on controlling the border.

The recent kickoff of the chamber’s Latino Connect events drew a diverse and larger than anticipated group that included people and entrepreneurs from various demographic groups, said Raul Sarmiento, a Colombian-born banker assisting with the effort.

Sarmiento said meetings will feature a translation app that allows participation from both Spanish and English speakers.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/lincoln-chamber-forms-latino-busines...