To jump-start the economy and provide workers, Biden should OK work permits for all undocumented immigrants

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The collapse of a Baltimore bridge, where six longtime immigrants perished in the dead of night while repairing the road, starkly illuminates their indispensable contributions.

Far from "poisoning the blood of this country," as former President Donald Trump has said, immigrants are building and maintaining the very foundations of our society even as they remain unseen, unrecognized and underappreciated. It’s time we changed that.

Today, for every 100 available jobs in Illinois, there are only 76 “available” or authorized workers to fill them. This gap reflects a growing labor shortage in our state. Fortunately, there are eager immigrant workers who fill the jobs others don’t want and recent arrivals yearning for the chance at these opportunities.

The only missing piece lies in the hands of President Joe Biden to act, through his parole authority, and issue work permits to those currently working and those standing by, ready to lend their skills and labor to our economy.

We, along with a coalition of more than 85 nonprofit organizations, business leaders, faith organizations, and elected officials, call on Biden to extend work permits to all undocumented workers as quickly as possible. This move would be a heavy political lift, but it would help fill job vacancies while catalyzing economic growth, enhancing tax revenue, and fortifying workplace protections for those who have long contributed to our communities from the shadows.

Our state has done an impressive job recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’ve had visionary leadership at the helm of our government, working to support existing businesses and attract new industries to our state. We can’t risk losing all that progress when we have the talent we need right here in our state to fill jobs in sectors such as health care, education, agriculture, and hospitality.

With work permits, undocumented immigrants can meet these needs, ensuring our state’s continued success and helping employers address issues such as inflation and supply chain disruptions.

Not enough Americans for jobs

This isn’t immigrants taking Americans’ jobs, a narrative that many right-wing politicians lean on to stoke fear and engage their base of supporters. It’s about meeting the needs of our economy because there aren’t enough U.S. citizens to fill these roles.

Like previous presidents, Biden has the power to enact this change through parole, an essential component of U.S. immigration law. We believe his administration can use the significant public benefit parole program.

Yes, MAGA extremists would no doubt file lawsuits, but we are optimistic the administration would prevail and cases would be tied up in court for years to come. In fact, in Texas, there was already a lawsuit challenging the wide use of parole for new immigrants and a judge appointed by former president Trump threw it out.

Of undocumented Illinoisans, close to 30% have been residing in the U.S. for decades and are part of the fabric of our communities. These are our neighbors, whose children have grown up here, and they can contribute even more to our state’s economy if they are granted access to work permits.

There are close to half a million undocumented people in Illinois who are not allowed to legally work but still contribute $1.5 billion in taxes a year. Getting them work permits isn’t just about addressing labor shortages — it's also about ensuring fair wages, secure benefits and improved working conditions for all workers, irrespective of immigration status. Moreover, it opens the door to higher wages and prosperous careers for the 20,000 undocumented students pursuing post-secondary study, currently sidelined due to the lack of work authorization.

Even with extreme Republicans making immigration the hot-button issue for the 2024 presidential election, there is proof that some expansion of current policy is popular across the aisle.

Since February 2023, the national work permits campaign has garnered the support of more than 126 businesses, 68 Latino community and grassroots organizations, and members of Congress. 

It's time for Biden to embrace work permits for all as the practical, fair and smart policy change that it is. People vote with their pocketbooks, and the benefits to the economy would be palpable in time for the general election, if we act quickly. POTUS needs to act now.

Raul Raymundo is CEO of the Resurrection Project. Sylvia Puente is president and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum.

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