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Some two dozen business leaders, former legislators and human rights activists sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday asking that he allow more immigrants to work while they are waiting for their visa petitions to be resolved.
Given the current need for workers throughout our nation’s economy, Biden should strongly consider doing so.
The letter referenced the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, noting that all six people who died, and one of the two who were rescued, were immigrants.
All eight were construction workers filling potholes on the bridge when a cargo ship rammed into it, causing it to collapse — something reminiscent of the Sept. 15, 2001, tragedy at our own Queen Isabella Causeway, in which eight people were killed.
The letter noted that many of the workers who will rebuild the Baltimore bridge most likely will be immigrants as well.
The letter asks that the president expand work permits provided through humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status for asylum seekers from selected countries.
It’s a reasonable request. Country of origin shouldn’t be the only factor determining whether a person with a reasonable asylum claim can seek gainful employment — especially when there aren’t enough workers to fill openings for jobs that traditionally are performed by immigrants.
Many of those jobs are in our own Rio Grande Valley. Local growers have said that in addition to the lack of water they’ve endured in recent years, insufficient or late allotment of work visas has left them unable to hire as many people as they need. Many shrimpers have been unable to go out to see because they couldn’t hire enough crew members, which overwhelmingly are immigrants.
Shrimp season opens July 15, and shrimpers probably already are looking for workers or worried that they might not be able to find them.
Allowing more immigrants to work would enable them to become self-sufficient — not only supporting themselves but contributing to their communities and economies.
It also would address a popular complaint from the close-the-border crowd that immigrants are a drain on taxpayers’ money. Enabling, and even expecting, them to support themselves would reduce current costs of providing them with shelter and services.
Also worth noting is the fact that most people seeking residency visas must affirm that they will be self-sufficient and not be a “public charge.” Allowing them to work while their cases are pending would help them achieve that self-sufficiency, and offer evidence that they are able, and willing, to take care of themselves and their families if applicable.
Our country, including South Texas, needs the kind of labor many immigrants can provide, and those who have valid asylum claims, and can’t return to their homelands, need — and deserve to become self-sufficient even while their petitions are pending.
There are too many reasons why our president should heed the letter writers’ requests. We can’t continue to maintain policies that hurt our country simply because some people have unjustified fears of people from other countries.
