July 21, 2023

CORREA, GARCÍA, ESPAILLAT, SOTO LEAD COLLEAGUES URGING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO EXPAND PAROLE AND WORK PERMITS FOR MIGRANTS

“This can be one of the more sensible solutions to addressing America’s labor shortages and lowering inflation”

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Today, Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Darren Soto (FL-09) led nearly 40 of their congressional colleagues in a letter urging the Biden administration to expand parole and work permits to both new migrants and long term contributing immigrant workers. Currently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) faces a significant backlog in processing the application for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), sometimes as long as 15 months.

“We urge your Administration to provide humanitarian parole and work permits to both recent migrants and those who have resided in the U.S. for decades; immigrants who have worked and paid local, state, and federal taxes, but without the freedom that comes with a work permit issued by immigration authorities. Not only have they contributed to our economy and culture, but they also have raised U.S.-born children, many of whom are now also tax-paying citizens. This can be one of the more sensible solutions, which are key to addressing America’s labor shortages and lowering inflation.” the Members wrote.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 9.6 million job openings in March of 2023. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has stated that between 20 and 60 percent of jobs remained unfilled in key work sectors including manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality. 

“While we acknowledge the ongoing efforts of USCIS to address the backlogs more generally by developing technology and hiring additional staff, the backlogs and delays in the EAD application processing persists. As a result, these delays have contributed to uncertainty on the lives of asylum seekers and parolees, as well as their potential employers and their local economies. At the same time, employers face a historic labor shortage. Addressing the work permit backlog will help provide work permits as soon as possible while expanding the workforce at this critical time,” they continued.

In addition to Reps. Correa, García, Espaillat, Soto, co-signers of the letter include Reps. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), André Carson (IN-07), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Henry Johnson (GA-04), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), James McGovern (MA-02), Grace Meng (NY-06), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Janice Schakowsky (IL-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

Click HERE to read the letter in its entirety.

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