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By: The opinion Posted 01 Sep 2023, 14:09 pm EDT
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is urging hundreds of thousands of immigrants to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
For this they were sent email notifications to people who can apply for such permits, reminding them of the processes to follow, according to a CBS News report.
In addition to emails, USCIS is sending text messages to migrants who are eligible to apply for a work permit.
That includes asylum seekers and people who came to the United States under programs that the Joe Biden administration created to discourage adults and families from crossing the southern border illegally.
“You are receiving this message because you obtained permission to enter the US. You can apply for a work permit online,” says the notification to which journalist Camilo Montoya-Galvez had access,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Naree Ketudat confirmed the sending of the notifications.
“[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.
The report comes in the middle of the New York City pressure for the Biden Administration to expedite employment authorization for thousands of immigrants.
The program is viable for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, for whom the US opened the door to find sponsorship in the country.
Those who requested asylum appointments through the CBP One platform are also notified.
There are people who request asylum, but they must wait a specific time before requesting a work permit, that is, they must wait 180 days after their request.
Some of those people have not continued with the process to obtain a work permit, so they are also being notified.
The report adds that the campaign was agreed upon during a meeting at the White House last Wednesday between senior Biden Administration officials and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
It is estimated that in New York there are about 60,000 immigrants in sheltersprompting pressure from Mayor Eric Adams for more help.
This week, DHS released a report that New York City government should better guide immigrants on how to obtain benefits with USCIS, including asylum and work permit petitions.
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