By The newspaper
01 Sep 2023, 14:45 PM EDT
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is sending emails and text messages to hundreds of thousands of immigrants urging them to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
The decision by that agency, which reports to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), occurred after a meeting between senior officials of President Joe Biden’s Administration and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
According to the CBS News report, Governor Hochul would have agreed with White House officials to seek options to expedite work permits and depressurize the immigration challenge that New York City faces with more than 60,000 immigrants in shelters.
Earlier, Mayor Eric Adams and other New York elected officials met with top DHS officials to request more help.
The report indicates that the immigrants who are asked to apply for a work permit are asylum seekers and people who came to the US under programs that the Biden Administration created to discourage adults and families from crossing the border as undocumented.
“You are receiving this message because you have obtained permission to enter the US. You can apply for a work permit online,” reads one of the notices.
Journalist Camilo Montoya-Galvez had access to that notification and one more addressed to asylum seekers.
DHS spokeswoman Naree Ketudat confirmed the notifications were sent.
“[Se ha] launched a national campaign, the first of its kind, for non-citizens who are eligible to work but have not yet applied for employment authorization,” he said.
The Biden Administration has several programs in place to protect certain immigrants, including Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, as well as those who applied for asylum appointments through the CBP One app.
It is estimated that in New York there are some 60,000 immigrants in shelters, of the more than 100,000 who have arrived in the Big Apple.
The DHS released a report suggesting that the New York City government better guide immigrants on how to obtain asylum and work authorization.
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