AOC Urges Biden To Lower Work Permit Requirements For Illegal Migrants

In a letter to President Biden, New York Democrats called for newly arrived migrants to receive work permits immediately upon arrival. Tens-of-thousands of migrants have arrived in the United States over the past few days following the expiration of Title 42, with many being transported to blue cities such as Chicago, New York and Washington D.C.

“We write to urge the administration to ease the undue delays in granting work authorizations to asylum seekers,” wrote the 13 Democratic members of the New York congressional delegation in a May 12 letter addressed to President Biden. The letter called on Biden to eliminate a requirement that newly arrived migrants must wait 150 days before applying for work permits.

“Allowing earlier access to work permits would decrease the pressure on NGOs and other community groups and provide asylum seekers with the opportunity to live more independent lives and find legal representation for their asylum claims,” the letter, which was signed U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerry Nadler, as well as Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, among others. “Asylum-seekers help create jobs, boost innovation, and increase economic growth.”

New Yorkers & small businesses have made clear that we are ready to employ our migrant neighbors.

And our newly arrived NYers have stated clearly that they want to support themselves safely.

Let’s get it done. We are asking the Federal gov to grant us work authorizations! https://t.co/rjkphHszUS

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 12, 2023

Democrats call on Biden to empower asylum seekers with work authorizations and eliminate the 150-day waiting period.

“I personally believe that the White House has been inconsistent in its stance on work authorization,” @AOC told us.https://t.co/c8RwK77rRG

— Documented (@Documentedny) May 13, 2023

The letter follows calls from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as well as Governor Kathy Hochul, for increased federal aid to deal with the surge in migrants. Since August, more than 60,000 migrants have arrived in The Big Apple, according to a report from the New York Post.

On the other side of the aisle, freshman U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) has called on President Biden to declare a state of emergency in order to address the crisis. “I have been calling for additional support for months to prevent us from arriving at this juncture, but my requests were ignored by the Biden administration and FEMA. Now, it is imperative they act,”  Lawler said in a statement Thursday.

Biden spoke with Hochul, Lawler and other elected officials during his Wednesday visit to the Hudson Valley, but he has not yet indicated whether he plans on loosening requirements for migrants to obtain work permits.