New York City officials disclosed that a mere 2,100 out of over 40,000 adult migrants in the city's shelter system have sought work authorization.
This comes despite the Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in September. Notably, since this announcement, no migrant has been granted federal approval to work.
The DHS has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to approximately 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. before July 31, 2023. This status, valid for 18 months, allows these individuals to work legally in the country. The DHS justified this extension by citing "extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevent individuals from safely returning."
Previously, the TPS program had granted work authorization to 242,700 Venezuelan migrants who arrived in the U.S. before March 2021. However, those who arrived after July are not eligible for the program.
In response to the DHS' announcement, Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed that her office had identified 18,000 private-sector job openings in the state that migrants with legal work status could potentially fill.
Governor Hochul, along with Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, announced earlier this month that the state would allocate an additional $38 million to provide legal services to migrants. This is in addition to a previously committed $50 million.
"After months of coordinated advocacy from New Yorkers, the federal government has made thousands of migrants from Venezuela newly eligible for Temporary Protected Status. Our job now is to ensure these individuals fill out all the appropriate paperwork so they can attain work authorization, find a job, and exit taxpayer-funded shelter," Governor Hochul stated.
The Labor Department has created a registration process for migrants eligible for the TPS program. The department's portal is designed to match individuals with available work opportunities.
However, on Wednesday, New York City officials acknowledged that just over 2,000 migrants had applied for work permits, with none approved thus far.
Masha Gindler, executive director of the Asylum Application Help Center, reported that only 300 applications were from Venezuelan migrants, according to the New York Post.
During the City Council Committee on Immigration hearing this week, it was revealed that the city has not prioritized Venezuelans at its migrant center. Gindler explained, "We [had] booked through all of October when the TPS was announced, so we could not have additional clients come in because we fully book our appointments as much as possible."
Gindler believes the Labor Departments assessment "will give us a lot of the information to see who is eligible and who we are able to call back and schedule appointments at the center."
She added, "Our goal is to identify, screen, and schedule appointments for all Venezuelans by the end of the year."
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