WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Nanette Barragán, (CA-44) Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Lou Correa (CA-46), and Veronica Escobar (TX-16) and leaders in the immigration and business community held a press conference at the steps of the U.S. Capitol urging the Biden administration to use existing law to expand parole and work permits to both new migrants and long term contributing immigrant workers. Representatives of the business community in attendance included American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action) Executive Director Rebecca Shi; Sergio Suárez, CEO of the North American Institute for Mexican Advancement (NAIMA) and business owner, Chicago, IL; Jenni Tilton-Flood, family member of Flood Brothers Farm, LLC, Clinton, ME; Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of CASA, a multistate immigrant organization and Mi Familia Vota CEO Héctor Sánchez Barba.
View event here.
“Let immigrants work,” said Rep. García. “President Biden must expand access to work permits for immigrants including new arrivals. Whether they arrived days ago or decades ago. People need to provide for their family and they want to work. Many of my constituents have worked and paid taxes for years but still live without the freedom and stability that comes with a work permit,” he said. “Here’s the reality: employers are facing a historic labor shortage and there are people ready to work.”
“Humanitarian Parole and work permits are a practical solution for our country’s labor shortage” said Rep. Barragán. “For immigrants and their loved ones, this provides economic security and the opportunity to work towards a better life. Immigrants’ skills strengthen and enrich our workforce, and they should be allowed to contribute to our economy.”
”I’ve got a lot of manufacturers in my district who are saying, ‘Lou, I’ve got to do this work, I’m hiring these people, but if they are without documents, I’m going to be a criminal.’ We’ve got employers that are now criminals? Are you kidding me?” said Congressman Correa. “President Biden, today we call on you to use your pen, executive order, and give these workers a work permit and make sure you stop having these employers break the law.”
“The solution is staring us right in the face. The solution ultimately is for Congress to do its job as comprehensive immigration reform,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “ But in the absence (of bipartisan agreement on comprehensive reform), this solution today, the expanding of work permits, and the expansion of parole, really is the solution that would help our country.”
“When you have governors, senators, and House members from both sides of the political aisle backing the same idea, plus employers and immigration advocates, it is time for the White House to take action,” said Rebecca Shi, Executive Director of ABIC Action. “Providing work authorization is economically important, morally right, and politically smart.”
“We appreciate the dignity that legal status and work permits bring to recent immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Ukraine and other countries, and we thank the Biden administration for providing it,” said Sergio Suarez, CEO of NAIMA and business owner from Chicago. “But we are here today because we feel that the 6 million Mexicans that are contributing and working across all industries for more than 30 years in this country, should not be overlooked.”
“If the president does not (act on work permits for immigrants), I am afraid that food operations and farms will shut down or stop expanding, food prices will go up, threatening the accessibility, affordability and availability of food and Americans’ ability to purchase the food they need, and that domestic food production will be impaired , threatening our national security,” said Jenni Tilton-Flood. “President Biden, it is time to authorize work permits to newcomers and longtime immigrants who have long supported our economy.”
“During the pandemic, undocumented immigrants kept our country going and gave us hope as a nation when we needed it the most. They were the definition of essential workers; they worked in the fields so we could eat, and they were the nurses who pulled double shifts to keep us healthy. Long-term undocumented immigrants have more than earned the right to work permits and parole,” said Héctor Sánchez Barba. “The President has delivered on most of the promises that he made at a town hall meeting that he had with me during the campaign. But he still needs to deliver on immigration. It is morally right and politically smart for President Biden to provide work permits and parole for long-term undocumented immigrants.”
“We need, immediately, these permits for our families. We need to be honest. Those who are defending democracy at this moment are the Black voters and the Mexican Americans who can vote here,” said Gustavo Torres. “And it is very important that we know that millions of them, voting at this moment, are families of our brothers and sisters who are without documents. It is time for the President, who has all the power to do it, to act immediately because the economy and this democracy needs immigrants.”
On Friday, July 21, Representative García, Lou Correa (CA-46) Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Darren Soto (FL-09) led 35 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. The letter, endorsed by 50 business and immigration organizations, can be found here.