New York City business leaders have asked the Biden administration to provide more federal aid and expedite work permits for asylum seekers. If asylum seekers could work, they would likely find their own housing, which would ease the burden on New York and other city governments. Businesses around the country seek more workers to fill positions. Advocates recommend policies that would provide a more comprehensive solution amid an historic refugee crisis that analysts consider unlikely to be addressed through enforcement-only policies.
A Plea From Businesses
“The New York business community is deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the continued flow of asylum seekers into our country,” according to an August 28, 2023, letter from the Partnership for New York City to President Biden and Congressional leaders. “We write to support the request made by New York Governor Hochul for federal funding for educational, housing, security and health care services to offset the costs that local and state governments are incurring with limited federal aid.
“In addition, there is a compelling need for expedited processing of asylum applications and work permits for those who meet federal eligibility standards. Immigration policies and control of our country’s border are clearly a federal responsibility; state and local governments have no standing in this matter. There are labor shortages in many U.S. industries, where employers are prepared to offer training and jobs to individuals who are authorized to work in the United States.”
Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, Rob Speyer, president and CEO of Tishman Speyer, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase and over 100 executives of major corporations signed the letter. Bourla and Speyer serve as co-chairs of the Partnership for New York City.
Businesses in Chicago also asked for reforms to help asylum seekers and others gain work authorization. “A coalition of elected officials and business leaders in Illinois is calling on President Joe Biden to ease work restrictions for asylum seekers and other long-term undocumented workers—a move they say is both humane and would help solve ongoing labor shortages,” reported Capitol News Illinois.
Immigration Law and Asylum Work Permits
Under U.S. law, individuals cannot receive employment authorization until 180 days after submitting an asylum application. “An applicant for asylum is not entitled to employment authorization, but such authorization may be provided under regulation by the Attorney General,” according to the Immigration and Nationality Act. “An applicant who is not otherwise eligible for employment authorization shall not be granted such authorization prior to 180 days after the date of filing of the application for asylum.”
Immigration attorney Noah Klug points out situations exist when the 180-day “clock” on asylum applicants can stop, making the wait longer. He notes a positive development: USCIS processing of employment authorization documents (EADs) for asylum applicants is quicker than other forms, with 80% processed within two months, according to USCIS data.
Policy Solutions Amid An Historic Refugee Crisis
An historic refugee crisis in the Western Hemisphere caused by violence, political repression and economic mismanagement has pushed millions of people from their homes. Refugee numbers from Venezuela are similar to those of Ukraine. Latin American experts say it is wrong to assume immigration enforcement policies can override the human instinct to leave untenable circumstances and seek a better life.
In January 2023, the Biden administration announced parole programs for up to 30,000 individuals a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the United States with a U.S. sponsor. The parole programs proved effective in reducing illegal entry as measured by encounters with Border Patrol agents. The policies are also more humane than alternative approaches.
After the Biden administration provided legal pathways via the new parole programs, Border Patrol encounters at the Southwest border declined by 95% for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela as a group between December 2022 and March 2023. Numbers remained low for three of the four countries through June 2023 and, after a spike, dropped for Venezuela in June and July. Border Patrol encounters at the Southwest border for Nicaraguans declined from 35,356 in December 2022 to 272 in July 2023.
Parole programs and legal pathways in general reduce illegal entry and offer more humane treatment for individuals and families. Businesses and elected officials at the state, local and federal level have called for the Biden administration and Congress to build on those models.
“Gov. Pritzker, along with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and other elected officials called for DHS to streamline and expand its existing program aimed at allowing refugees ‘paroled’ into the U.S. from countries like Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to get slightly faster access to work permits,” according to Capitol News Illinois.
On May 5, 2023, Democratic senators, including Sen. Durbin, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), wrote to President Biden asking to expand the parole programs to allow state sponsorship. “Allowing these states to opt into a lawful, orderly and efficient parole program to meet workforce needs in critical industries would provide an enormous public benefit to all Americans,” according to the senators.
Redesignating Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela, including updating the cutoff date, would eliminate much of the work permit problem, notes FWD.us, since TPS provides employment authorization. Along with other policy recommendations, such as promptly providing work authorization for new parolees, the group recommends redesignating, extending or designating TPS for several countries, including Cameroon, Sudan, South Sudan, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal and Guatemala.
“This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe,” wrote Thomas Paine in Common Sense. “Hither have they fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster.” The “monsters” people escape from have changed since 1776. The dreams of a better life remain the same.
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