It has already been addressed by the Federal Government, one of the cornerstone requests of New York Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul to try to weather the chaotic immigration crisis. And open, in theory, the path to financial independence to a large part of the 59,900 people who live in emergency shelters in the Big Apple.
An executive order from the White House, released this Wednesday, allows Venezuelan citizens who have entered the country, specifically before July 31, 2023, and meet certain eligibility criteria, to apply for Temporary Protected Status ( TPS). That is, an immigration relief program that enables them to apply for the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for 18 months and provides temporary protection against deportation. A scheme from which thousands of immigrants from Central America have benefited for decades.
This measure, according to projections from organizations such as the New York Immigration Coalition (NYCI), will allow more than 470,000 Venezuelans throughout the country and specifically 60,000 who arrived in the Big Apple since last year, to quickly obtain authorizations. of work and begin “immediately to contribute to our economy.”
“No one wants to leave the house if it is not necessary. But thanks to the Biden Administration extending and redesignating TPS for Venezuela, people who were forced to flee violence and instability will now have a good opportunity to remain safe and protected in the United States,” said Murad Awawdeh, director NYCI executive.
One of the criteria of New York’s elected leaders and community coalitions is that by offering this temporary benefit to Venezuelans, while they apply or wait for answers to their asylum applications, it will help decompress the collapsed shelter system.
The citizens of this South American nation, punished by a communist regime and a horrific humanitarian crisis, represent, according to some estimates, between 60 and 70% of the total of 112,800 people who, since spring 2022, have been welcomed by the City. , after having crossed the southern border with Mexico.
The numbers that New York City manages are that 40% of the 60,000 that are under its care come from Venezuela and, of them, 15,000 could now receive TPS.
“More countries deserve relief”
But for spokespersons for organizations that defend immigrants, Venezuelans are not the only ones who experience these types of conditions, which make it difficult to return to their countries of origin.
“TPS should also be redesignated for Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Nepal, Sudan, South Sudan and Cameroon, and new designations created for Guatemala, Mauritania, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Senegal, Haiti and Nigeria. We need to continue providing help to all migrants seeking safety and protection,” Awawdeh requested.
Governor Kathy Hochul’s vision is that work authorization “is the way out” of the immigration crisis, because a temporary status allows them to leave the shelter system.
To expedite these processes, the New York State Department of Labor will initiate employer matching efforts with newly eligible immigrants who are on track to receive EAD.
More than 70 state staff members, representing 16 different state agencies, have been mobilized to assist in this effort to put the accelerator on this process.
In addition, it is announced that officials from New York and the United States Department of Labor will meet in the coming days to discuss other types of joint actions.
“Permits do not arrive quickly”
Already since 2021, around 242,700 Venezuelans who had arrived in the country until March 2021 had been beneficiaries of this immigration protection. This measure will allow nearly 500,000 citizens of this nation, who came to the United States after that date, to make these requests.
Roscio Figuera, 40, from Caracas, who emigrated to the Big Apple since 2017, says that she is excited that her “countrymen” who came “really to work and make an effort,” have this relief. But from his personal experience, which he describes as the “echo of thousands,” he waited nine months for the work authorization card.
“I spent years without a role. And I got ahead before, like thousands of immigrants. Having a work permit opens the doors to more opportunities, only if you want to improve yourself, learn the language and respect the laws,” says Roscio.
“It costs a lot to become independent”
In some consultations that El Diario made to recently arrived immigrants, housed in the Roosevelt and Row Hotel, in Manhattan, this Thursday there were airs of hope, doubts and disappointment.
Among so many intertwined stories, the main concern of some Venezuelans is that they expect relatives who come “on the route” and who would arrive without being able to apply for TPS, because they will not fall within the deadlines.
For others, it is distressing that they had residence in Andean countries, where they lived for years, before coming to the United States. And that could be a “bar” to apply.
Meanwhile, the majority seemed happy, because they think they meet all the requirements, although they know that applications for families of four will cost them more than $2,000. The fears of some who have had “problems” with the police and assume that it may “appear” as a criminal record were also heard in low voices.
“This city has been very supportive of us. Even if you have a job, it is very expensive for you to become independent. To raise your children there are a lot of drugs and violence. I am waiting to fix everything to go somewhere else,” shared a young Venezuelan, 28 years old, who came with his wife and two of his children.
The same immigrant explained that a rumor spread that when people receive their work permits, they will have to leave the shelters: “It is very difficult to pay rent here. “It’s like throwing yourself out into the street.”
“It’s just a first step”
Given this announcement, Mayor Eric Adams recalled that since April 19, 2023, he has led this petition under the slogan ‘Let them work’. In his opinion, the measure announced this Wednesday allowed the first step to be taken in favor of Venezuelans. Although he made it clear that this is just one of the cracks in this complicated crossroads.
“I hope that we can continue moving forward to extend this protection to tens of thousands of other migrants from other countries,” said the municipal president.
In this sense, Adams insisted that he hopes to continue with national decompression efforts and accelerated work authorizations, so that those who enter the city can fend for themselves.
He also hopes that this “global crisis” will start the engine for a more comprehensive approach, that will open the way to reforms that will allow benefits to be provided to thousands of long-term New York immigrants.
“This will only accelerate the crisis”
Predictably, the interpretation of the Republican minority in the State Assembly and the New York Council is different.
In a statement released this Thursday, by the caucus called ‘Common Sense’, led by Councilman Joe Borelli, it is concluded that “unfortunately we are sure that this TPS benefit for Venezuelans will only accelerate and further encourage the crisis for taxpayers.” New Yorkers.”
In a letter it is highlighted that if it were true that the solution to the crisis is to assign work authorizations to all those who have come since the last 18 months, that means that there must be a clearer picture regarding the eviction of shelters built in parks, schools, and public buildings.
“If anything has become clear from this immigration disaster, it is that the federal government is not interested in protecting our borders. “Everyone knows that this will only end when the City stops unlimited benefits for newcomers, at the cost of subtracting benefits from those who pay taxes,” the statement concluded.
The municipal government has stressed that the municipal budget will be forced to cut 5% in several agencies, if special funds are not received, to address this emergency, which could mean a disbursement of $12 billion in the next three years.
In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the same mayor “shock” New Yorkers by warning that the arrival of an average of 10,000 immigrants per month could “destroy New York City as we know it.”
And immigration reform?
While for many Venezuelan immigrants this news means a balm, for thousands of others, it opens an immense question.
Such is the case of Ecuadorian community leader, Walter Sinche, who urges local Hispanic elected leaders to look to other groups of immigrants who, for 50 and 60 years, have been here without the slightest opportunity to dream of an insurance number. social. They have only contributed to the “American dream.”
“As an Ecuadorian, an immigrant and for justice, we demand that protection measures be considered for a group that has demonstrated, that it has only come to this country, to work hard for several decades. Today our country is a ‘failed state’, which not only continues to expel thousands, but is dominated by drug trafficking,” he highlighted.
For her part, the community leader of Sunset Park, in Brooklyn, the Mexican Bárbara López, resents that the elected leaders and leaders of community organizations in the five boroughs have completely forgotten about the national campaigns of “A path to citizenship for 10 million.”
“They buried us. But I’m just telling you, we’re not dead. The migrants who for years have come here, without demanding anything, only leaving blood on their knees, deserve at least not to cut off benefits that we have earned with our taxes. It’s nothing personal, against the newcomers. The message we receive is that in order to be taken into account, we must arrive en masse and create a crisis,” he concluded.
“We work with limitations”
Although the federal government can expand TPS unilaterally, a senior White House official emphasized to the digital media ‘Politico’ that further quelling the immigration crisis falls on Congress.
“We are working under the limitations of our fundamentally broken legal framework, which is simply inadequate to meet the challenges we are seeing at the border today,” the spokesperson shared.
Indeed, Biden has repeatedly warned that since arriving at the White House he has proposed a series of comprehensive measures for immigration reform, which have been completely blocked by Republican legislators.
3 keys to TPS for Venezuelans:
- Secretary of National Security Alejandro Mayorkas assured that he made the decision “due to the growing instability and lack of security in Venezuela,” where Nicolás Maduro’s regime is accused of violating human rights, imprisoning opponents and manipulating elections.
- TPS “provides people who are already in United States protection against expulsion” but is not a path to obtaining citizenship or asylum.
- It only applies to Venezuelans who arrived in the country before July 31, 2023, those who entered after this date are not eligible, and “will be expelled if it is determined that they do not have a legal basis to stay.”
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