Work Permits : In the midst of a growing migrant crisis, with more than 100,000 individuals arriving in New York City over the past year after crossing the Mexican border, leaders from coast to coast are uniting in their plea to the Biden administration for Work Permits: “Let them work.”
Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, have emphasized this message repeatedly in their speeches and interviews. However, expediting work permits, while a seemingly straightforward solution, presents a complex web of legal, bureaucratic, and political challenges.
The current six-month waiting period for asylum-seekers to apply for work permits is a mandatory requirement set by Congress, making it difficult to accelerate without legislative action. While some Democratic leaders propose alternative actions, the political climate makes this an uphill battle.
President Biden faces criticism from Republicans who argue he is too lenient on immigration, citing congressional inaction as a reason for the administration’s limited ability to make significant changes to the immigration system.
Work Permits & Migrants
The Department of Homeland Security has sent over a million text messages urging eligible individuals to apply for work permits, but the backlog of applications ensures that the wait time remains well over six months. Frustration is mounting among both migrants and city leaders.
Gilberto Pozo Ortiz, a 45-year-old migrant from Cuba, has been residing in a hotel in upstate New York at taxpayer expense for three months, with no work authorization in sight. “I want to depend on no one,” Ortiz expressed. “I want to work.”
In Chicago, where 13,000 migrants have settled in the past year, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker have written to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting parole for asylum-seekers as an alternative to the work permit wait.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and 19 Democratic state attorneys general have echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that work permits could alleviate the strain on government resources.
Despite these pleas, the federal government has offered minimal assistance to cities grappling with the crisis. Homeless shelters in various cities are filling up with migrants unable to obtain work permits, putting added pressure on local resources.
New York City, currently housing over 60,000 migrants, has incurred substantial expenses, estimated at $12 billion over three years, to accommodate and care for them. Mayor Adams warns that this crisis could “destroy New York City,” while advocates argue that such dire predictions are overstated for a city of nearly 8.8 million people.
Republicans have seized on the discord, using it to put Democrats on the defensive ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, suggests that the calls for expedited work authorizations are more about political optics than practical solutions.
One potential solution with broader support is providing legal assistance to migrants for asylum and work authorization applications. However, even this approach faces significant challenges.
Nationwide, only 16% of working-age migrants enrolled in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection online app have applied for work permits. Federal officials have recently begun sending reminders to eligible noncitizens via email and text messages. New York City officials are also surveying asylum-seekers to assess eligibility.
Expanding the list of nations whose citizens qualify for Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. is another option. However, this may be met with reluctance from the White House, fearing it could incentivize more migrants to come to the United States.
As arrests from illegal border crossings in Mexico continue to rise, reaching over 177,000 in August, cities and states grapple with the consequences of a crisis with no simple solutions. In the absence of immediate changes, many migrants are turning to an underground economy, highlighting the urgency of addressing this complex issue.
Elden Roja, working odd jobs for about $15 an hour, dreams of buying a vehicle for his family, currently residing in a Chicago police station lobby. While bureaucratic hurdles remain substantial, some migrants do eventually navigate the system. Jose Vacca, a Venezuelan, found employment in New York City, and after receiving temporary work authorization, even secured a raise from his employer.
Also Read : New Zealand : Government Uncovers Alarming Migrant Exploitation