The Biden administration has reportedly issued over 3.3 million work permits to undocumented immigrants, many of whom have yet to secure asylum, a green card, or any legal documentation permitting their stay in the United States.
This information comes from Don Barnett, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, and contradicts a 180-day waiting rule for immigrant work permits.
The six-month waiting period for asylum seekers to apply for work permits was established in 1996 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. However, according to Barnett, the Biden administration has been gradually eroding this requirement. Barnett shared his observations in a piece for the New York Post.
"In a blizzard of rules and over 530 immigration-related executive actions already blowing past the previous record compiled by Trump over 4 years the Biden administration has expanded admissions or created brand new admission pipelines under eight distinct and significant programs, Barnett wrote.
Barnett identified these programs as including family reunification initiatives for eligible individuals from Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Colombia, and Cuba. Other programs cater to those in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and a separate direct flight program serves individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Moreover, the CBPOne app allows foreign nationals to schedule appointments with US border authorities. Barnett stated that approximately 2.3 million individuals had entered the US via these programs as of fall 2023.
Despite the existence of these programs, many of these undocumented immigrants may lack lawful immigration status and would not qualify for legal permanent residency or a green card under these initiatives.
"Most have immediate eligibility for a work permit and a Social Security card," Barnett wrote, referring to the undocumented immigrants arriving in the US. "In some cases, those receiving parole apply for asylum later, after already getting a work permit nullifying the 180-day wait rule."
Barnett reported that by 2023, the Biden administration had issued 2.139 million work permits, a figure projected to exceed 3.3 million in 2024.
An article published by the New York Times in April highlighted the frustration experienced by long-term undocumented immigrants and experts over the Biden administration's distribution of work permits to new arrivals.
"Its offensive that my employees and other immigrants are being leapfrogged by new arrivals," Chicago restaurateur Sam Sanchez told the publication.
"For those of us here a long time trying to do everything right, its just not fair that we are forgotten," said Juan, who requested anonymity due to concerns about his immigration status.
"If President Biden can grant work permits to new arrivals, he can do it for people picking our crops, emptying bedpans and cleaning hotel rooms for more than 10 years," argued Rebecca Shi, executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition.
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