IL government, business leaders hope Biden expands work permits for migrants

CHICAGO (WAND) — More than 13,000 asylum seekers have been sent to Chicago over the past year, but most have struggled to obtain work permits.

Gov. JB Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin and a coalition of business leaders are calling on President Joe Biden to step in.

"The best way for us to manage through this lengthy crisis is to tap into the extraordinary value that immigrants bring to our workforce," Pritzker said Wednesday. "We have the jobs. We have the people. We just need authorization from Washington."

From the governor to the mayor of Chicago and the Congressional delegation, all hands are on deck to help immigrants get jobs. Some of the state's top business organizations stressed that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security needs to expand work authorizations to help migrant families and address the labor shortage crisis.

"When asylum seekers come to our state seeking refuge, we will not turn our backs on them," Pritzker said. "Our obligation is to help them get back on their feet so they can support their families and find stability while they await asylum hearings and determination."

Gov. JB Pritzker stood alongside a large group of government and business leaders calling on President Joe Biden to authorize work permits for asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants.

The American Business Immigration Coalition noted that there are 9.8 million open jobs across the country. Advocates said it is morally right to let Illinois have a state-sponsored parole program for immigrants.

"The U.S. Chamber's August report cites if every unemployed person in the country found a job, we will still have more than 4 million open jobs," said Rebecca Shi, Executive Director of the American Business Immigration Coalition. "This is why employers and Republican governors, Spencer Cox of Utah and Eric Holcomb of Indiana, are also advancing this idea."

Shi said the Biden administration has granted work permits to 541,000 immigrants. Although, Mexican and Guatemalan migrants haven't received the same treatment.

Elected leaders and advocates said this would be a commonsense change that could provide better opportunities for new migrants and undocumented immigrants planning to stay in Illinois. Leaders from the Illinois Restaurant Association, Illinois Manufacturers' Association and trades are also supporting this effort.

"I happen to believe this is an American issue. It is a test of our generation of who we are and what our values are," Durbin said. "Many of us, myself included, the son of an immigrant to this country, believe it is the humane, and moral and American thing to do."

Durbin explained he will continue pressing for immigration reform in Congress and the executive branch until there is a long-term solution.

"It's a very contentious political issue which reflects the divisions in our country and in Congress," Durbin added. "We're hoping that the president has the authority to move in certain areas. We've identified some of those areas. I hope that he finds the will to do that and I think he might."