Mission accomplished: Maine leaders win approval to extend work permits
Three Maine leaders got quick results from their push to extend work authorizations for immigrants and asylum seekers as the federal government works through an extensive backlog in work permit processing.
On Tuesday the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is permanently increasing an automatic extension to expiring Employment Authorization Documents for eligible non-citizens from 180 days to up to 540 days.
The announcement came in response to the request sent Dec. 6 by Gov. Janet Mills, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Jaddou and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Employment Authorization Documents are issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The federal government is working through an extensive backlog in work permit processing. In their letter, the three said the backlog puts hundreds of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers at risk of losing their ability to work and support themselves.
They noted that the state of Maine, for example, has nearly two jobs open for every job seeker.
“Every willing and able worker makes a difference in our communities, especially in essential but understaffed sectors like health care,” they wrote.
In a subsequent statement, the three said of the extension, “This is great news — not only for new Mainers and their families, but also for the many businesses that rely on this skilled workforce and for the communities they help enrich.”
They continued, “This extension provides much-needed stability as states like Maine continue to address labor shortages, ensuring that immigrants and asylum seekers can maintain employment without unnecessary interruptions caused by application backlogs.”
They added, “While this is a meaningful step forward, there is still much work to be done to reform our broken immigration system, streamline work authorization processes and create a fair and efficient pathway for all.”
The final rule will be effective on Jan. 13.
As of this fall, 900,000 people are waiting for their initial Employment Authorization Document application to be processed, while an additional 500,000 are seeking renewals, according to a news release.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments