U.S. Will Allow Nearly
500,000 Venezuelan Migrants to Work Legally
The move, announced late
Wednesday, followed intense lobbying by New York Democrats before and during
President Biden’s visit to New York City this week.
The
Biden administration said late Wednesday that it would allow hundreds of
thousands of Venezuelans already in the United States to live and work legally
in the country for 18 months.
The
decision followed intense advocacy by top New York Democrats, including Gov.
Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and party leaders in
Congress. It will affect about 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country
before July 31, temporarily protecting them from removal and waiving a
monthslong waiting period for them to seek employment authorization.
In
an unusual break with a president of their party, the New York Democrats had
argued that the city’s social safety net would tear under the weight of more
than 110,000 recently arrived migrants unless they were allowed to work and
support themselves more quickly.
Alejandro
Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said that he made the decision
because conditions in Venezuela “prevent their safe return” but stressed that
immigrants who had entered the country since August were not protected and
would be “removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay.”
In
a joint statement, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of
New York, the top Democrats in the Senate and House, said that the Homeland
Security Department had estimated that roughly half the migrants currently
living in New York are Venezuelans who would be affected by the decision. They
called it a “welcome step forward.”
“As
a result of this decision, immigrants will be temporarily allowed to work, fill
needed jobs and support their families while awaiting an asylum determination,”
they wrote. “The decision will also substantially reduce the cost to New York
taxpayers with respect to the sheltering of asylum seekers.”
Democratic
leaders elsewhere, including in Illinois, have also been calling for help, and
praised the move on Wednesday evening.
As
the number of migrants rises in northern cities, straining budgets and space,
Democratic candidates and political strategists have been
increasingly worried the crisis could hurt their standing among
voters. Republicans in New York, for instance, where control of the House could
be decided next year, have wasted little time in stoking a sense of
chaos and Democratic discord in races for key swing seats.
The
administration’s decision, which was part of a raft of actions to deal with the
crush of migrants trying to cross the border, was announced on Wednesday as Mr.
Biden was leaving New York City after a four-day visit for the United Nations
General Assembly.
The
president largely steered around the city’s migrant crisis in his public
schedule. But he huddled privately with Ms. Hochul to
discuss the matter Tuesday night during a star-studded reception at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. On Wednesday, she called special status for
Venezuelans “one of our top priorities.”
The
administration had already extended humanitarian protections to close to
250,000 Venezuelans who had arrived in the country by March 2021. But officials
had been wary that extending it more broadly could create a new, longer-term
incentive for migrants to attempt to cross into the country.
Mr.
Adams, who has been the most forceful Democrat pushing the Biden administration
to help New York deal with the mounting toll, thanked the White House on Wednesday.
But he immediately reiterated calls for the Biden administration to extend the
special protections of tens of thousands of migrants from other nations.
The
city is currently providing shelter to 60,000 asylum seekers. Mr. Adams has
estimated that housing, along with education and health care, could cost the
city $12 billion in the coming years. Allowing more of those migrants to begin
working and earning money could help ease some of the burden on the system,
while generating new tax revenue.
The
White House has taken other steps to help New York City. The Biden
administration helped secure $140 million in emergency funds for New York and
has requested more from Congress. Dozens of federal officials are also on the
ground in New York City trying to help identify other migrants who were already
eligible for employment but had yet to file applications.
White
House officials argue that only Congress can meaningfully overhaul the nation’s
immigration system, altering the flow of migrants and changing the rules around
who can work when. Privately, they have made little secret of their distaste
for Mr. Adams’s outspoken criticism, and other Democrats have pointed out that
the mayor’s comments are now being quoted extensively by Republicans to attack
Mr. Biden.