Biden pressured to expedite work permits for immigrants

The city and state of NY pressure the federal government more and more insistently to expedite the granting of work permits that allow the more than 100,000 immigrants Those who have arrived in the Big Apple in fifteen months will come out of assistance that is costing millions of dollars to the state and the city.

Yesterday, the governor of the state Kathy Hochul met in Washington with high officials of the Joe Biden government with this only item on the agenda, and at the end she said in a statement that the conversation had been “frank and productive”, having concluded with a breakthrough: the promise of the federal government to provide personnel, data and resources to “identify the thousands of individuals trained but who have not yet applied for a work permit”.

“This is a critical step but make no mistake: it is not enough to decisively address this crisis or provide the support that New Yorkers want and deserve.”, he pointed out, and promised to continue fighting for immigration reforms that allow the largest possible number of permits to be issued quickly.

The White House issued its own statement in which it promised that the month of September that begins tomorrow will be “the month of action” to help those who have not yet applied for a work permit “and thus respond to the labor needs of New York.”

With this phrase, the White House picks up the gauntlet thrown by a hundred big New York businessmen, who last Tuesday urged the government and the legislative chambers to expedite immigration permits not only for humanitarian reasons but also because “There is a shortage of workers in many industries in the country (and) employers are willing to offer work.”

Indeed, a large part of the administrative blockade on work permits is due to legislative dynamics that can only be changed with legal reforms that would go through Congress and the Senate, but this reform seems difficult since emigration is one of the battlefields that pits Democrats and Republicans.

In addition, the proximity of the electoral year in just a few months means that even the Democrats are avoiding getting involved in an immigration reform that in the United States, as in the rest of the world, hardly adds votes.

First neighborhood protests arise

In fact, the first protests have begun to emerge in different parts of New York in which residents complain about the arrival of immigrants who are housed in empty schools, gyms or shelters set up with huge tents with hundreds of beds and collective dining rooms.

Today, for example, in a demonstration called by the City Council to demand controversial work permits, led by Mayor Eric Adams, a small anti-immigration group interrupted him with messages such as “Close the borders” either “They are depleting the resources of the city”until they were evicted by the police.

The mayor repeated the idea that he has been stressing almost daily for months: “Let them work and participate in the American dream.”

“We call on our national leaders: do not do this to New York,” The mayor also said, and to support his repeated demand for help from the federal government, local officials, state legislators, union and business leaders, as well as activists attended.

But the voice of recently arrived immigrants was also heard: “I am here to work to help my family and contribute to the country’s economy,” Colombian Deymer said. We came through the jungle, it is hard to risk our lives, go hungry, walk kilometer after kilometer, receive humiliation, but we are forced to leave our country”.

“We need to be heard, we need to work, we need work permits,” insisted the Colombian.

On several occasions, the commissioner of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Manuel Castro, -a Mexican immigrant whom the mayor named today as an example of success- asked those present: “What we want? and to the public he replied: “work permits now”

Source: EFE