A group of 43 mayors from across the country is calling on the Biden administration to permanently extend work permits for immigrants, citing economic concerns and shelter space.
in letter delivered on monday The mayors and county leaders asked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jadu to automatically extend existing work permits by at least 540 days.
“Without this, hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers will lose their work permits, businesses will lose employees, and cities and counties will face increasing challenges in providing shelter to their citizens.” wrote the mayors.
Among those who signed the letter are New York City Mayor Eric Adams, whose comments on immigration have sometimes drawn the ire of immigrant advocacy circles, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has made public his city’s struggles with immigration. This includes Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who has spoken out.
“Denver has experienced a record number of immigrants in recent weeks, and very few have the ability to work and earn a living for their families,” Johnston said.
“This has created a simultaneous humanitarian and fiscal crisis for our city, forcing us to consider deep budget cuts and service reductions. We believe that the ability of immigrants to work is critical to Denver’s success. We recognize that this is important and that DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Take immediate action to prevent more immigrants from losing their work permits. ”
The work permit extension request comes months after the repeal of a USCIS rule starting in 2022 that extended automatic renewal by 540 days.
As of October, the validity period for these automatic renewals has been set back to just 180 days, meaning that some foreigners who renewed their labor documents after the rules were repealed will begin losing their right to work legally starting this spring. become.
“Local businesses are still struggling to cope with the current labor shortage and are unable to cope with the further disruption to their operations from losing the employees they already employ. , allowing businesses to operate without interruption,” the mayors wrote.
Since October, USCIS has been under pressure from elected officials, advocates, and immigrants to reinstate the automatic 540-day extension.
“New York City thrives on the diverse and dedicated contributions of these community members, and stripping people of their right to work is completely un-American. We look forward to the federal government acting quickly to keep us safe,” Adams said in a statement.
The agency amended its manual in September to allow up to five-year extensions for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to certain categories of foreign nationals, including asylum seekers, although automatic extensions are currently limited to 180 days. ing.
A USCIS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The EAD period is important because it allows immigrants and their employers to plan ahead. The six-month permit limits the types of jobs you can apply for. Also, in many jurisdictions, a series of other benefits are associated with work permits.
“My work permit has given me access to everything I need to live and support my family, including a job, a driver’s license, and healthcare. I am still waiting for my application to be processed and my work permit has not been received in time. It is important that the government extends work permits for migrants who are worried that they will not be able to do so,” said Charity R, an asylum seeker from Nigeria and member of the Asylum Association. Seeker Advocacy Project.
The short-term update also touches on another issue plaguing USCIS: the application backlog.
USCIS’ goal is to process EADs in an average of three months.
According to the agency’s figures, EAD processing time was reduced by 32% from the end of fiscal year 2022 to the end of fiscal year 2023, from an average of 6.8 months to 4.6 months.
on monday, USCIS announces reduction in overall case backlog This is the first time in over 10 years. As of the end of fiscal 2022, there were approximately 5 million unresolved cases, but currently there are 4.3 million unresolved cases that have exceeded the target processing time.
The mayors cited USCIS efforts to extend five-year grants to certain groups, such as some recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allows nationals of certain countries in crisis to live and work in the United States. He admitted that he had granted the EAD.
“While laudable, these measures do nothing to help immigrants currently facing work permit renewal delays and nearing the expiration of their EADs,” they wrote.
This backlog could mean long waits for some migrants without being able to work, and the situation is exacerbated by applications piling up as short-term work permits expire.
Long waiting times often impose artificial deadlines on immigrants, who can be out of work from one day to the next.
“I waited over a year for my work permit renewal application to be processed. It was scary. I was afraid every day that I would lose my job if my work permit didn’t arrive on time,” says Charity R. said.
The mayors asked USCIS to make the 540-day extension permanent, or at least extend the interim provision in 2022 until the backlog is cleared.
If DHS does not implement permanent changes to automatic extensions, temporary extensions should be for a minimum period of three years to allow USCIS sufficient time to work through the extensive work permit renewal backlog . “We ask you to act quickly to ensure the communities we represent do not experience the destabilizing effects of immigrant workers leaving the workforce,” they wrote.
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