DHS renews work permits for hundreds of thousands of migrants

Homeland Security granted a 540-day extension on work permits to as many as 800,000 immigrants, many of whom arrived illegally, saying the economy is depending on them.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it has been overwhelmed by requests for work permits, driven largely by the border surge, and is struggling to process them while working on renewals for those who came earlier.

To reduce its workload, USCIS said it’s tripling the validity of the automatic extension from 180 days to 540 days, which should keep those migrants in their jobs without having to worry about their documents expiring.

The change applies to migrants who filed their paperwork between Oct. 27 and now. USCIS says it’s too swamped to complete much of that, and the agency said nearly 800,000 people could lose their work authorization.

They include people who arrived without a visa but say they’re pursuing asylum, were granted “parole” to get into the country, or are here under tentative relief such as Temporary Protected Status.

“Temporarily lengthening the existing automatic extension up to 540 days will avoid lapses in employment authorizations,” said Ur M. Jaddou, the USCIS director.

She also said the agency wants a more long-term solution.

The work permit, officially an Employment Authorization Document, is a major benefit. Not only does it allow a migrant — including those who arrived legally — to legally hold a job, but it also lets them get a driver’s license or Social Security number, the gateway to other benefits.

Some authorities also look to the EAD as evidence that someone has tentative legal status.

The 540-day extension carries well past the November election.

Robert Law, a senior official at USCIS in the Trump administration, said that’s intentional.

“The Biden administration is giving illegal aliens indefinite work permits in a clear attempt to prevent their deportation under the next America First administration,” said Mr. Law, who is now director of the Center for Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute. “American workers continue to suffer under Biden’s failed economy, and this just further stacks the deck against marginalized workers.”

USCIS said the rule will save the migrants nearly $30 billion that they would have lost to upheavals if their work permits expired. Businesses will also avoid a $5.2 billion loss that the upheaval would have caused.

Immigrant rights advocates cheered the move.

“This action will greatly improve certainty and stability for newcomers and their employers,” said Emily Foster, vice president at the National Immigration Forum.

The move comes amid an emerging debate over the role of illegal immigrants and the economy.

New research indicates that the Biden border surge has helped prop up economic growth, leaving the U.S. economy better off in the post-pandemic world than many of its competitors.

The Congressional Budget Office said higher immigration rates will add two-tenths of a percent to the annual rate of increase in gross domestic product over the next decade.

But the CBO said those gains are divided among an even larger population, so while the economy as a whole is better, the average worker is less well off.

Experts say the gains and losses aren’t distributed evenly. Those on upper incomes end up ahead, while those on lower rungs, particularly those with lower rates of education who have to compete directly with the new migrants, are worse off.