The call to allow migrants to work continued on Thursday, this time coming from both immigration advocacy groups, unions, and work providers.
Photo by Dean Moses
The call to allow migrants to work continued on Thursday, this time coming from immigration advocacy groups, unions, and work providers.
A coalition of organizations gathered in Battery Park’s Castle Clinton in the shadow of the iconic Statue of Liberty to implore the federal government to expand a program that would provide a greater number of asylum seekers with immediate work authorization. The immigrants, under the program, would be granted with what’s known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
This demand comes after the group penned a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, requesting that the Biden Administration help address the migrant crisis by providing asylum seekers with legal work opportunities. The group believes this would ease the pressure on the city’s shelter system and would allow the newcomers to work and give back to their respective communities.
“We ask that the Biden administration use TPS for migrants inclusive of these countries of origin, allowing them an opportunity to contribute their skills and talents to New York’s workforce. We also call on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to support eligible applicants who seek employment authorization by expediting processing times for asylum seekers,” part of the letter read.
A slew of union groups like 32BJ, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, NYC Employment and Training Coalition and advocates stressed at the gathering that New York City is powered by immigrants and the state has a longstanding history of welcoming all for a better opportunity, allowing the city to flourish and the economy to be reinvigorated.
The American Immigration Council reported that in 2018 immigrant-led households accounted for $120.5 billion in…
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