As the presidential election looms, Latino elected officials in swing states such as Nevada and Arizona are prioritizing the election issues that are most crucial to their constituents. On Tuesday, leaders held a press conference to urge Joe Biden to extend work permits for long-term undocumented immigrants.
For more than a year, the Biden administration has used a humanitarian parole program to grant work permits to hundreds of thousands of recent immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. But long-term immigrants say it is time they are provided work authorization as well.
The Tuesday morning press conference – hosted by the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) – featured Latino politicians, business people and those who are directly affected by the issue.
Reyna Valdivias, a recent Nevada State University graduate, gave personal testimony attesting to the importance of being granted more freedom in her job choices. Though she has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Valdivias does not qualify for a work permit because she is undocumented, a “Dreamer” who is not protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The Obama-era policy allows relief from deportation and a work permit to undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.
As a Dreamer, Valdivias spends her days working in the sweltering Nevada heat alongside her father, digging knee-deep trenches and lifting wheelbarrows, unable to pursue her dream of working in the finance industry.
“That is why, President Biden, I’m asking you to grant Dreamers without Daca like me and other long-term immigrants the opportunity of a work permit,” Valdivias said during the press conference. “So much of my future is in your hands, and I’m looking to you and so are my friends and our families here in Nevada and around the country.”
The conference followed the circulation of a letter signed by 150 state and local Latino elected officials, pushing Biden to extend the permits to Dreamers ineligible for Daca due to their age; undocumented spouses of US citizens; and long-term undocumented immigrants. Advocates are calling for an executive action to extend the federal program Parole in Place, which only grants work permits for the undocumented spouses of US military personnel.
ABIC, a coalition of more than 1,400 business associations and businesses that advocate for immigration reform, started the pressure campaign almost a year ago. It has picked up steam over the past two months due to the election and economic urgency, said Rebecca Shi, ABIC’s executive director. “We keep having the same high inflation problem, and that is caused by this persistent labor shortage,” Shi said. “We have very low unemployment, but a continuing 3.1 million open jobs. And so this is also a solution to our economic struggles that everyday Americans are facing.”
The Illinois state representative Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, a Democrat, also spoke at the press conference about the need for federal action, since her state powers would only go so far. “Many immigrant workers have the skills to fill critical roles across manufacturing, health, education and farming, but they are held back by their lack of work authorization,” she said. “This parole authority is within the president’s executive power. It is the right thing to do and we urge President Biden to bring relief to our families now.”
