Mediaboss Marketing

Few things are certain in life, but one thing I do know for sure: Oscar is going to show up for his check-in at U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement every six months, regardless of the personal peril to which he is exposing himself. I know, because I go with him to offer whatever support I can to this hardworking father of two proud American citizens, his beautiful daughters.

Oscar faithfully shows up for his immigration check-ins for the same reason he goes to church and has paid his taxes in the U.S. for more than 20 years it is what he is supposed to do. Oscar came to the U.S. as a teenager and has been doing what he is supposed to do ever since. He is an example every American would do well to follow, except for one detail: Oscar is living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

With 1 in 5 Chicagoans being of Mexican ancestry, this situation may be more common than you think. People like Oscar and his family are your friends and neighbors. They go to the same schools and churches you go to. They are the backbone of our economy and the very fabric of our community. How long must they wait to be treated fairly?

I am far beyond the point of frustration when it comes to the decadeslong inaction surrounding this issue. There is a solution that could be implemented today, and the good news is that momentum is building to help the Oscars of our nation.

With a stroke of the pen, President Joe Biden could change the lives of millions.

Biden could provide Oscar and other long-term immigrants who are in the U.S. without authorization with the dignity of a work permit through the existing federal parole program as he has done for nearly 1 million new migrants. The already legal and existing parole programs give limited lawful presence and work permits to immigrants already in the U.S.

[Susan Gzesh: Asylum-seekers should be allowed to work in Chicago]

Weekdays

Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team.

The temporary protected status just granted to Venezuelans and the parole and legal status granted to now more than 1 million Venezuelans, Cubans, Afghans and Ukrainians are important and timely, but they do nothing to help the long-term immigrant contributors, including Mexican immigrants and their U.S. citizen families.

The good news is that bipartisan momentum is building. Given congressional gridlock and raging inflation, business leaders and employers; faith, labor and advocacy organizations, including immigration groups; Democratic and Republican governors; U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip, and U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez and Rep. Jess Chuy Garca, along with nearly the entire Illinois delegation; House Minority Whip Veronica Escobar of Texas and other members of Congress; and state attorneys general are supporting work permits for long-term immigrant contributors. That is so people like Oscar can work and grow the economy, reduce inflation and keep families together.

As a proud daughter of a Mexican American union member, I know how important it is to give people the long, overdue opportunity to come out of the shadows and legally work and thrive. Work permits protect immigrants from exploitation and abuse and facilitate participation in a union. Furthermore, work permits enable our economy to tap into this huge pool of talented, skilled and underemployed workers to help get our economy back on track and reduce the inflation hurting us all.

As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted in a September report, If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have 3.5 million open jobs. This proposal would fill critical labor needs and reduce costs for Americans. More than 70% of Americans agree that it is fair for the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, farm workers, mixed status families and long-term contributors to be granted a work permit. In fact, immigrants in Illinois paid an estimated $945.5 million in federal taxes and $708.9 million in state and local taxes a year.

I implore Biden to provide work permits for Oscar and the 11 million immigrants in the U.S. without authorization. Until Congress gets serious about passing immigration reform that fixes the broken system, Biden can take existing administrative action to grant work permits for long-term immigrants, for the good of our communities, for the good of Chicago and for the good of the United States of America.

Anna Valencia is the city clerk of Chicago.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

Here is the original post:
Op-ed: Biden should give immigrants the dignity of a work permit - Chicago Tribune