Description
Immigration advocates across the U.S. are joining a growing push to call on President Joe Biden to extend work permits to undocumented immigrants who have lived long-term in the U.S. An effort they say will help keep families together and the American workforce strong.
This renewed push has been mounting since September when the Biden administration extended work eligibility to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who crossed the Southern Borden illegally.
Now lawmakers and business leaders from more than 20 states have signed a letter urging the president to do the same for undocumented immigrants who have grown up in the U.S., worked here for years and/or are immediate family to U.S. citizens.
“We're asking President Biden to solve one small part of it,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, about the ongoing immigration crisis during a press conference alongside the American Business Immigration Coalition and other local business and faith leaders Thursday. The Democratic congresswoman echoed the call for the president to extend work permits for "long-term" undocumented immigrants.
“We urge him to use his executive authority to grant a pathway to work permits for people who need them, who are spouses of American citizens, especially spouses of brave military veterans and service members,” Castor said, referring to spouses like Alejandra Juarez.
Juarez is the wife of an Iraq War veteran and mother to two U.S.-born kids who will be forced to leave the country again in less than 24 hours.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/work-permits-undocumented-immigrants/67-d0a8a2fa-93b1-4a92-b91d-44704b33b518
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