LET'S PUT MIGRANTS TO WORK
Some 19 attorneys general from across the country have recently called upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “expedite and expand access to work authorization for newly arrived immigrants.”
In a press release, New York State Attorney General Letitia James noted, “New immigrants, so many of whom fled horrific circumstances in pursuit of a better life in America, deserve an opportunity to find good-paying, stable jobs …. It is unconscionable that after all the suffering they’ve endured on their journey, they encounter bureaucratic roadblocks preventing them from pursuing the American dream. Asylum-seekers and migrants are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and I thank my fellow attorneys general for joining this effort to ensure they are treated with dignity.”
In their letter to DHS, the group has requested the following steps be taken:
- Grant provisional work authorization to allow eligible parolees and asylum-seekers to work while their full application for work authorization is pending.
- Eliminate application fees for those granted humanitarian parole and allow applications with a fee waiver to be submitted online.
- Re-parole those awaiting work authorization to prevent the expiration of their parole status while attempting to obtain employment.
- Streamline the application processes to make it easier for immigrants to apply for work authorization and for DHS to process applications. For example, the coalition recommends simplifying and translating the work authorization application form into multiple languages to make it more accessible for applicants.
Joining James are the AGs from the District of Columbia and the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Think that’ll work?
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