New York Employers Eager to Hire Migrants, but they Cannot do so

Migrants are prohibited by federal policy from securing work permits until 180 days after an asylum application is filed. The situation in New York City highlights the quagmire this puts immigrants and employers in, as relayed in this NYT story by Jesse McKinley and Luis Ferred-Sadurni. 

Congress has seemed unwilling to change the 180-day policy; President Biden has not indicated whether he will take other steps so some asylum seekers can apply for a work permit sooner.

The influx of roughly 110,000 asylum seekers in New York City from the southern border has caused logistical, financial and political headaches for Democrats everywhere, but especially in New York, where it has divided leaders in the usually liberal state and put them in conflict with Mr. Biden.

The same tensions are evident across the nation, including in deep-blue enclaves like California, where buses of migrants have arrived from Republican-led states, and Massachusetts, where the governor and federal elected officials have begged the Biden administration for robust action.

MHC