NY mayor calls on Biden to increase work permits for immigrants
New York Mayor Eric Adams, reiterated Wednesday an urgent call to President Joe Biden to provide “immediately” the TPS work permit for thousands of immigrants who arrived in the United States, and massively in New York in the last year. , seeking asylum in the country, when Title 42 is about to expire.
Adams specifically calls for a redefinition of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and an extension of the validity period, which can only be done with the president’s signature.
He ensures that this can allow a greater number of asylum seekers to access the protection of TPS and that they can receive a work permit.
He also called on the Biden Administration to expand access to humanitarian parole and increase the number of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agents and reassign them to reduce application processing times.
Humanitarian parole, which can be granted for urgent medical or humanitarian reasons and other emergencies, is often a “last chance” to gain entry to the United States for those who are otherwise ineligible for a visa.
Adams, who has insistently made claims to the federal government for financial aid since last year it decreed a humanitarian crisis due to the flow of immigrants, let his voice be heard again as Title 42 was close to expiring on May 11, which according to him will increase irregular arrivals to the city.
Title 42, a controversial health regulation imposed by the Government of Donald Trump and maintained by the current Administration, allows migrants of certain nationalities to be expelled to Mexico, without the opportunity to request asylum.
According to the mayor, some 1,400 migrants arrive in the city every week. So far, at least 52,000 people have been received, many families with children, and more than 34,000 are in public shelters as well as hotels that the city has had to contract, to which it also provides meals as well as other services through NGOs.
“Thousands of people are waiting to cross the border and potentially end up in New York, so 52,000 can go to 100,000,” he said, and have not “heard of a real plan from the White House” for when Title 42 expires.
“We need Washington to respond,” Adams said, adding that “the president and the White House have failed New York City on the issue” of immigrants.
Tax burden
Adams also disclosed that as of March 31, the city had spent $817 million on services to newcomers.
The city expects to spend $1.4 billion in the fiscal year 2023 and $2.9 billion in 2024.
The Adams Administration says it is an “unsustainable” tax burden that puts pressure on the city budget and puts funding for programs and services at risk that benefit New Yorkers.
Adams said the newcomers expressed their desire to have a job and said they can work in agriculture, food service transportation, and factories
