Buoyed by the momentum reported in recent NY Times, WSJ and Politico features . . . Business leaders, organized labor and Latino leadership link arms in the fight to extend work permits for immigrant spouses of U.S. Citizens, Mixed Status Families, Dreamers and other long-term workers before Election Day
CHICAGO — Eight years ago on May Day, millions of immigrants marched to support immigration reform. This week in rallies and press conferences across the country — workers, employers, dreamers, mixed status families, and U.S. citizens demand President Biden to recognize the dignity of their family members, long-term workers and taxpayers.
“Did you know there are 1.1 million US citizens, just like me, married to immigrants who can’t even get a work permit?” asked Allyson Batista of Pennsylvania, a board member of American Families United (AFU) and was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal: Biden Weighs Giving Legal Status to Immigrant Spouses of U.S. Citizens.
AFU has teamed up with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) — a national organization of 1,400 CEOs and a growing list of supporters, across party lines, to organize more than five May Day actions across the country. (Their Here To Work campaign has held more than 50 actions since launching last fall.)
May Day Events Pushing for Work Permits (in formation):
- Chicago May Day with Labor Unions: SEIU HCII, CTU Local 1, Chicago Workers Collaborative, Latino Union etc (Mayor Brandon Johnson, invited)
- New York City May Day with May Day Presser with Mayor Eric Adams (confirmed)
- Milwaukee May Day 2024 March with Voces de la Frontera
- North Carolina with businesses, families directly impacted and elected leaders (April 30)
- Washington, D.C. May Day March with CASA
With the federal government gridlocked on almost every issue, a broad array of supporters have joined this fight — hoping it may be one of the few levers the Biden administration has left to deliver on immigration. Growing everyday, the list of supporters includes:
- United Farm Workers
- National Domestic Workers Alliance
- Hispanic Leadership Fund
- Latino Donor Collaborative
- Latin American Coalition (North Carolina)
- Voces de la Frontera (Wisconsin)
- Georgia Association for Latino Elected Officials
- SEIU HCII
- CTU Local 1
- Living United for Change in Arizona | LUCHA
- CASA
- United We Dream
The New York Times reported on the growing frustration among U.S. citizens, mixed-status families and employers across the country, who want President Biden to extend work permits to immigrants who have been living in and contributing to this country for decades. And The Wall Street Journal exclusive: Biden Weighs Giving Legal Status to Immigrant Spouses of U.S. Citizens. The U.S. economy depends upon a foreign-born labor force to alleviate national labor shortages, reduce inflation and grow by $7 trillion more over the next decade.
