Work Permits Allow Immigrants With Legal Status To Work, But Long USCIS Processing Times Are Placing U.S. Employers and Workers At Risk
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn a recent Trump Administration rule that ends automatic extensions of work permits, making it so that previously-vetted immigrants with legal status cannot work while they await approval of their work permit renewals. USCIS’s interim final rule, announced on October 30th, ended the automatic extensions for 18 different categories of immigrants. Due to long USCIS processing wait times, immigrants who submitted work permit renewal applications on time will be left without work authorization while they wait for their application to be processed – sometimes for many months at a time – risking immigrant workers’ ability to legally work, through no fault of their own.
Prior to this new Trump rule, if an immigrant – who is here legally in the U.S. – filed their work permit renewal request on time, they would automatically receive a work permit extension to ensure they don’t lose their authorization while USCIS processes their renewal. Senator Rosen’s proposal would reinstate that commonsense policy. Her resolution is cosponsored by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
“Immigrants who work and contribute to our economy are central to Nevada’s prosperity, and they’re the backbone of the U.S. economy,” said Senator Rosen. “This unfair rule change by the Trump Administration will cause chaos — forcing thousands of immigrants with legal authorization to stop working or be fired by their employer. This will hurt our economy and harm thousands of families, so I’m urging my colleagues to join me in overturning this rule.”
Senator Rosen has been outspoken in her opposition to mass deportation, and her strong support for DACA and TPS recipients and their families. Earlier this year, she helped introduce the Protect Sensitive Locations Act, which would provide commonsense protections against immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and churches. She also strongly denounced the Trump Administration for revoking a previously authorized TPS extension for immigrants from Venezuela. Last year, she raised concerns over the significant application delays impacting DACA recipients, and gave a floor speech urging her Senate colleagues to take immediate action to permanently protect Dreamers, while simultaneously continuing to work to pass comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship.
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