Over 40 Democratic mayors and county officials have demanded that Joe Biden give jobs and work permits to migrants who have entered the U.S. illegally, claiming that new arrivals will add a staggering $7 trillion to the economy over the next decade.
In a letter signed by the likes of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and San Francisco Mayor London Breed, the Democrats plead with Biden to force the Department of Homeland Security to “leverage its authority to grant parole for longterm undocumented immigrants and our most recent arrivals to create a process for streamlined work authorization.”
Our request is rooted in the belief that extending the dignity of legal authorization to work for our residents born in Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and other countries would be a positive step forward. These individuals have embraced the United States as their home and have, over decades, worked diligently, paid taxes, raised families, started businesses and bought homes. A substantial majority of Americans, including approximately half of surveyed Republican voters, strongly endorse the extension of work permits for individuals who have made long-term contributions.
Today, approximately 11.3 million U.S. citizens share a home with someone who is undocumented, making this issue resonate in key electoral states like Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina. Both recent arrivals and the long-standing undocumented community are susceptible to dangerous work conditions and exploitation that often result when individuals lack access to work authorization and the protections that come with it.
It is our strong recommendation that in the development of this program, worker safety and worker choice is prioritized, and a worker’s legal presence is not solely tied to their employment by a single employer. We must acknowledge that in the absence of long-awaited comprehensive reform from Congress, we need to consider other significant actions that allow us to tap into the incredible value immigrants bring to our workforce and communities.
Your administration’s proactive stance in welcoming Afghan and Ukrainian refugees, and others through this policy is commendable. We also applaud the extension of work authorization to recent migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Honduras, Burma, El Salvador, and Haiti, but urge the same protections and work authorization opportunities to recent arrivals from Mauritania, Angola, Ecuador, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Legal scholars affirm your authority to extend work permits to long term immigrants, and the support from 80+ members of Congress, American Business Immigration Coalition’s 300+ Employers, CEOs and Associations, as well as labor organizations like UNITE HERE, the Teamsters, and United Auto Workers (UAW), underscores the broad consensus on this matter. We acknowledge the challenges your administration faces, especially in responding to various priorities including “Operation Lone Star”. Since this busing operation municipalities have welcomed thousands of asylum seekers arriving from the US-Mexico border.
Amidst Congressional inaction to fix our broken immigration system, this is a unique opportunity to change the tide from crisis to an opportunity, one that supports both new arrivals and long-term undocumented residents. There are several thoughtful ways to initiate this process. For example, your administration could expand the existing program that grants “parole” to the spouses and parents of U.S. military service members to include the 1.2 million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.
A work permit program could focus on long-term undocumented individuals who have been in the nation for 10 years or more, or a parole program could specifically address Dreamers who are too young and ineligible for DACA. Moreover, parole could be granted under significant benefit to the state as extending work permits to long-term contributors is not only the morally right thing to do for our communities but also a strategic move for our economy. Legally allowing long-term immigrants to work will result in higher wages, shielding them from workplace exploitation and enabling them to contribute more effectively to the labor market. This, in turn, will lead to increased tax contributions, estimated at $13.8 billion annually.
Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the GDP of the U.S. economy is going to be boosted by $7 trillion over the next ten years due to the contributions of new arriving immigrants. Despite their lack of work authorization, long-term immigrants are valued members of communities across this country. They add tremendous value to the U.S. economy as neighbors, taxpayers, workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs. It is time we provided the security and opportunity they have long yearned for. It is time to extend work permits to bring millions out of the shadows. On behalf of our new residents and long-term immigrants, we urge you to use this authority to everyone’s shared benefit.
Nearly all of those who have signed the letter represent sanctuary cities, where Democratic officials protect illegal immigrants from deportation and often pay for their housing, food and other living expenses.
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