Work Permits for Recently Arrived Immigrants Can Help Ensure They Find Housing
By Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Over the past year, the media and city leaders in places like New York, Chicago, Denver, and elsewhere have voiced concerns over the cost and availability of housing for migrants arriving in their cities. The crisis of affordable housing in many United States cities means that many newly arrived migrants, who are often seeking protection from the countries they have fled, have no place to go but overburdened public housing systems or to sleep on the streets.
The rhetoric of these city leaders often lacks empathy and compassion for the immigrants who, for the most part, have simply sought protection in this country from the dangerous situations in their countries of origin. But city leaders are right that the federal government should bear the brunt of the blame in creating this problem. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the agency within it that issues work permits—United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—has the power to alleviate this problem. Simply put, they can make it much easier for many people to obtain work permits thereby empowering immigrants to be able to afford housing and other basic needs. But USCIS has not taken the basic steps needed to do this.
One primary example is DHS’s legal mandate to issue work permits for individuals seeking Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is a form of immigration protection for noncitizens from certain countries that DHS designates as places suffering from significant violence, political strife, or environmental disasters. DHS has used its authority to designate (or re-designate) many countries under TPS, including Venezuela, Haiti, Cameroon, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, and others. In addition to protection from removal, TPS also includes a right to a work permit, allowing people to provide for themselves and their families.
It often takes USCIS months and even years to grant someone TPS. Under USCIS’s current system, people are generally without work permits for this prolonged period. But USCIS is not following the law: under the TPS statute, even TPS applicants should receive work permits. The law says that an applicant who is “prima facie eligible” for TPS—meaning their application shows they are someone who may be eligible for TPS and there is nothing that suggests they may not be eligible—has a right to a work permit. Yet USCIS instead has a long practice of holding off issuing work permits until the TPS application is ultimately approved.
Notably, many of the migrants facing the current housing crisis are people eligible for TPS. For example, there are large populations of Venezuelans and Haitians who have recently arrived in the United States. Most languish for months and sometimes years before being granted work permits even though upon applying for TPS they are immediately eligible for work permits.
“The rhetoric of these city leaders often lacks empathy and compassion for the immigrants who, for the most part, have simply sought protection in this country from the dangerous situations in their countries of origin. But city leaders are right that the federal government should bear the brunt of the blame in creating this problem.”
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project along with the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and the law firm Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A. have sued USCIS over the agency’s failure to issue work permits as the TPS statute requires, Mansor v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, No. 23-0347 JLR (W.D. Washington). The federal district court on August 2nd, 2023, denied the government’s motion to dismiss, and shortly thereafter, the district court certified a nationwide class.
The housing crisis faced by recently arrived immigrants in cities like New York, Chicago, Denver, and beyond is a complex issue that demands a comprehensive and compassionate response. While city leaders express valid concerns about the cost and availability of housing, it is crucial to recognize that the federal government, particularly the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), plays a pivotal role in alleviating this challenge.
The delayed issuance of work permits, especially for individuals seeking Temporary Protected Status (TPS), exacerbates the problem by leaving migrants without the means to afford housing and meet their basic needs. USCIS's failure to adhere to the legal mandate of promptly granting work permits to those prima facie eligible for TPS contributes to prolonged periods of uncertainty and vulnerability.
About Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project is a 2023 grantee of the Barbara McDowell Foundation whose mission is to promote justice by defending and advancing the rights of immigrants through direct legal services, systemic advocacy, and community education. Apart from its primary focus on direct legal services, NWIRP actively engages in impact litigation in federal courts to: (1) defend the constitutional and statutory rights of individuals in removal proceedings; (2) challenge the expansion of civil detention of immigrants in removal proceedings; and (3) establish the rights of noncitizens seeking immigration benefits.