March for Migrant Work Permits: Advocates Demand Long-Term Rights
Hundreds of advocates marched in Washington, urging the Biden administration to extend work permits to undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The Here to Work Day of Action march called for immigrants who have been in the country for years to be allowed to apply for work permits, preventing family separation and providing a path to citizenship. The Biden administration has the power to expand work permits through humanitarian parole, Temporary Protected Status, and Deferred Enforced Departure. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports a labor shortage with 9.6 million job openings and only 6.4 million unemployed workers. Advocates also called for new TPS designations for countries like Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some Republican lawmakers are pushing for more restrictive immigration laws.