Chicago mayor pushes to fast-track work permits for immigrants amid crisis
Barnini Chakraborty
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called on the federal government to fast-track work permits for asylum-seekers, saying America’s third-largest city is running out of resources to care for a growing migrant population that has already hit the 13,000 mark.
“Let me state this clearly: The city of Chicago cannot go on welcoming new arrivals safely and capably without significant support and immigration policy changes,” Johnson said during a Wednesday news conference. “This change would be a commonsense measure that would provide greater opportunities for arrivals, immigrants, to build their lives here in the state of Illinois.”
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Johnson was sworn in three months ago as Chicago’s newest and most liberal leader just days after his predecessor, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also a Democrat, declared a state of emergency over the immigrant crisis engulfing the city.
Lightfoot, as one of her last outgoing moves, authorized the release of emergency funds to deal with the thousands of immigrants seeking asylum who have settled in Chicago and have struggled to live under harsh conditions, at times sleeping on the floors at police stations and on the streets for weeks on end. The emergency declaration, which also asked for help from the Illinois National Guard, came after more than 8,000 immigrants showed up in the Windy City over the past 10 months. Since then, thousands more from Central and South America have been bused in from Texas after the influx at the southern border.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) began filling buses and sending immigrants to “welcoming” cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Lightfoot had vowed to greet them with open arms and blasted Abbott for his “cruelty” but soon found out that the cost of having to find housing, food, and medical health strained the city’s capabilities.
Johnson’s remarks came on the eve of the anniversary of the first busload of immigrants arriving in Chicago from Texas. Also present at the press conference were Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and other Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation.
The group is working with American Business Immigration Coalition Action to push for federal policy changes that would allow new arrivals to enter the workforce more quickly.
Johnson said it has become “increasingly clear” that what Chicago is facing is “not a short-term crisis, but it’s a long-term dynamic.”
He and the others have called on the Biden administration to allow cities and states to sponsor work permits for immigrants who have newly arrived in the country, as well as ones who have been living in America illegally to facilitate industries facing labor shortages, such as manufacturing, construction, hospitality, and healthcare. Specifically, they have asked the Biden administration to use a “significant public benefit” designation that would fast-track the process of authorizing work permits, in turn, easing the burden of cities and states forced to take care of them.
Chicago has already spent $250 million over the past year, and city officials have said it cannot keep up the pace.
Earlier this month, Alderman Ray Lopez, a Democrat who represents Chicago’s 15th Ward, pushed a proposal to use deportation as a deterrent to address a crime problem tied to immigrants in the city.
“I think if we have the looming threat of deportation for anyone who engages in gang, drug, prostitution, or anything else more egregious — you know, hopefully, that will deter some of the bad behavior that we’re seeing,” he said on CBS News Chicago.
Lopez wants to put a provision back into a city ordinance that would allow officials to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement if immigrants or other undocumented residents are arrested for gang, drug, prostitution, or sex crimes against minors.
Lightfoot banned communication between the city and federal authorities in 2021.
“I think we need to send the message loud and clear that there are certain things that are unacceptable in our society,” Lopez said.
Chicago isn’t the only city struggling to keep up with the demands of thousands of immigrants.
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More than 100,000 immigrants have made their way to New York City since the spring of 2022, which breaks down to more than 2,000 a week. The influx has led to infighting between Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams, also a Democrat, has lashed out at Hochul, blaming her for not leading an adequate response to the crisis, while the governor has blasted the mayor for being too slow to take up her offer to help. Adams has also slammed the governor for not requiring the state’s other cities and counties to help the five boroughs congested with new arrivals.