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SALT LAKE CITY – Earlier this morning, Voices for Utah Children and the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce joined American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action), community and business leaders for the launch of the “Here to Work” campaign in Utah, a nationwide effort urging President Biden to expand parole and work permits for long-term immigrant contributors.
As Utah wrestles with the unprecedented national labor shortage posed by a tightening labor market, a congressional impasse and delayed solutions for long-term immigrant contributors who have been in the United States for decades without any viable path, the “Here to Work” campaign offers a sensible path forward — supported by bipartisan employers and immigrant communities — to boost the economy and provide relief for thousands of Utahns and millions of Americans who are already valuable contributors to the workplace and everyday life in the states.
“Immigrant communities have long served as the backbone for several industries vital to our society’s infrastructure and their contributions should not be overlooked,” added Juan Pascua, CEO of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Especially now, as our nation suffers from historic labor shortages, we need immigrant workers to fulfill essential roles that keep our communities running.”
“Amid the current labor constraints and the unjust separation of Utah families as a result of our nation’s harsh and outdated immigration policies, expanding parole and work authorization for long-term contributors is a no-brainer for the Biden administration,” said Enrique Sánchez, intermountain state director of ABIC Action. “Not only would it reunite hurting families that have been forcibly separate and ensure long-term immigrant workers and American families are not forced to live in the shadows, but it would help boost our local economy and bolster and stabilize our ever-thinning workforce.”
Via the simple stroke of a pen, President Biden has the authority under current immigration law to expand work permits to immigrants that have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years, through the use of parole.
“Children in immigrant families should not have to worry about the whereabouts of a parent because of a flawed immigration policy,” said Moe Hickey, executive director of Voices for Utah Children. “It’s disheartening that kids can be separated from a parent. President Biden must act immediately to fix this issue impacting thousands of families in Utah and millions across the country.”
“Our call is not just to the President, but to our fellow Americans as well,” said Michele Corigliano, executive director of the Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association (SLARA) “We must urge President Biden to take a morally and economically sound step by broadening work authorization for dedicated, long-term immigrant contributors eager to join the workforce. Such a move will provide much-needed relief to businesses in Utah and across the nation grappling with the challenges posed by labor shortages.”
BACKGROUND
Utah needs immigrants.
- Roughly 1 in 11 Utahans was born in another country, and a similar proportion of residents are native-born Americans with at least one immigrant parent.
- One in nine Utah workers is an immigrant, making up a vital part of the state’s labor force.
- As consumers, immigrants add billions of dollars to Utah’s economy, with a spending power of almost $6 billion
- Immigrants in Utah have contributed nearly 2 billions of dollars in taxes, paying over 1 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year.
- Immigrant entrepreneurs in Utah generate hundreds of millions of dollars in business revenue.
The Here to Work campaign is a joint effort by nearly 300 businesses, 127 immigrant rights organizations, labor, Republican and Democratic Governors, and Members of Congress, to ask President Biden to use his existing legal authority under the “Significant Public Benefit” provisions of the Department of Homeland Security, to expand work permits to long-term immigrant contributors through the use of parole, including spouses of U.S. citizens, Dreamers without DACA, farm workers and long-term immigrants who have been long-time contributors to the U.S. economy, as well as new arrivals, in response to a pressing economic emergency – the labor shortage. A legal memo outlining the president’s authority can be found HERE.
Advocates are convening a large mobilization on November 14 in Washington, D.C.: The “Here to Work” Day of Action.
Bold, humane, common-sense action is justified on its merits, and it is politically popular. As laid out in a memo by American Families United, “Immigration Voters” – U.S. citizen adults living with undocumented immigrants – are a force in swing states, making common-sense, humane action on immigration a political win for President Biden.
President Biden has the ability to expand work authorization with the stroke of a pen. Last month, President Biden announced that work permits would be given to 500,000 Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States.
The Biden administration has granted a historic number of parole work permits to 567,000 Afghanis, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, and Cubans.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) already provides parole for the undocumented husbands, wives, and parents of U.S. military service members.
Recently, Congressional leaders called on the President to take the next step and do right by all mixed-status families, and immigrants from all over the world. A bipartisan set of governors including Republican Governors Spencer Cox of Utah and Eric Holcomb of Indiana, and Democrats JB Pritzker of Illinois and Kathy Hochul of New York, have also taken up the cause: urging the President to expand workforce authorization to long-term immigrant contributors as well as new arrivals.