Category: Immigration

Recap: Cheers! with Business Alianzas, Chelas con Contratistas and 1 Year Anniversary

February 18, 2022

So far we’ve had two big events this year, Cheers with Business Alianzas and Chelas con Contratistas which took place on January 18th at La Posada restaurant. During both events, besides networking with everyone present, our priority was to register as many contractors as possible for Lead Abatement, a course that explains how to safely work with lead and asbestos. There’s still availability for those interested in this free program.

By the end of the event we registered approximately 10 contractors! Additionally, they were able to exchange contact information between each other. Huge thank you to La Posada Restaurant for allowing us to host this event at their business and to their employees for their attention with us. 

Lastly, we want to thank each and every member of the 150 small businesses that form part of Business Alianzas. Our 1 year celebration would not have been possible without all of you! Thank you for allowing us to help you every step of the way. We look forward to continuing working with all of you this year. We enjoyed celebrating with all those who joined us at Los Altos Restaurant, via zoom, and in Puerto Morelos. Thank you to Los Altos for hosting this afternoon with many shared conversations and laughs. Here’s to many more years of assisting entrepreneurs.

Visit our Business Alianzas website to stay up to date with our upcoming events. We hope to see you at our next event!

10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees #10: Educate Yourself

February 11, 2022

Welcome to the first post in the “10 Ways to Support Immigrants and Refugees” series!

“Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself.”

– Robert Green Ingersoll

#10: Educate Yourself

Although immigration and refugee crises do not directly affect all of us, they impact the people in our neighborhoods and our communities as a whole. Immigrants and refugees contribute greatly to the U.S. economy, and they account for 13.7% of the U.S. population, as of 2020.

In order to address issues that impact immigrants in our communities and worldwide, we must educate ourselves. This can be a challenge with all of the information that is constantly thrown at us through social media. It can feel overwhelming to stay informed of all the issues facing our communities in this day and age. We can make it easier on ourselves by choosing to incorporate reliable sources into our social media feeds and media consumption.

The following are examples of ways to stay informed that can be incorporated into the media that you already consume:

How do you stay updated on issues affecting immigrants and refugees in your community and across the globe? Let us know on our social media!

Instagram: @puente.ci

Facebook: @PuenteCulturalIntegration

– Annaliese Fowler, Puente CI Data Analyst

Bilingual Outreach

July 17, 2021

Puente Cultural Integration, LLC is the leading bilingual consulting agency in the State of Michigan supporting Hispanic small businesses and providing coaching to startups in the City of Detroit. We have worked with over a dozen agencies providing program development, project management, and as consultants to nonprofit organizations and governmental departments. Our most important work is helping immigrant business owners formalize their business practices. We start each day determining which businesses need our help.

We have a unique and multi-faceted approach to outreach to the immigrant communities we serve. Puente provided direct, door-to-door outreach to the West Vernor & Springwells Business Improvement District in Southwest Detroit from 2017-2021. During the pandemic, we shifted to direct phone calls, many months making up to 500 calls to ensure that business owners knew of the most recent changes to COVID-19 protocols, grants, and resources.

We currently have a mailing list of over 1000 email contacts, over 500 phone numbers, and we have over 100 direct clients that we are coaching through Business Alianzas.

Where is everybody?

January 16, 2018

I was recently interviewed about how deportations are directly affecting small businesses in Southwest Detroit by Hub Detroit, a publication dedication to telling stories about the neighborhoods. As a consultant working with a number of nonprofit organizations in Southwest Detroit, I spend most of my days working directly with small business owners, helping them to access resources and to solve problems.

Over the last year, one of the greatest challenges for Southwest Detroit businesses is their shrinking client base due to immigration threats. People are in disaster preparation mode, staying out of public spaces and saving money in case of an emergency. The somber change in the vibe of the neighborhood was palpable right after the election, it has now evolved into a state of resignation as people attempt to continue living their lives. Stories of raids, detentions, and the hardship that children and spouses are suffering when the bread winner is deported have shifted from shocking to normalized.

November 2017 Issue of The Hub Detroit

Hub Immigration Changing the Tide Dec 2017_Page_1
HUB Detroit, November 22, 2017 misunderstood the name of my business in our phone interview. (Puente de) Conexion is the name of our nonprofit organization, the name of my company is Puente Cultural Integration.

La Posada Mexican Restaurant & Market
Both the image of the Southwest mural and the image above are from Posada Mexican Restaurant and Market, one of my absolute favorite hole-in-the-wall authentic Mexican restaurants in the world. (This is a common scene in SW, owner, Juan Romo (right) sitting with me discussing business with the owner of DMex Printing, Cesar Escobedo. (My favorite butcher, Salvador Enriquez from Carnicería Guadalajara is seen in background.)

Hub Immigration Changing the Tide Dec 2017_Page_3

For some feel good stories about how amazing Southwest Detroit is and to find a directory of all the businesses in both Mexicantown and the West Vernor – Springwells Business Improvement District, see the November 18, 2017 edition of The Hub Detroit.