May 23, 2024

VIA EMAIL

President Joe Biden

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We, leaders representing local governments around the country are writing to respectfully
request that the Department of Homeland Security leverage its authority to grant parole for long-
term undocumented immigrants and our most recent arrivals to create a process for streamlined
work authorization.

Our request is rooted in the belief that extending the dignity of legal authorization to work for
our residents born in Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and other countries would be
a positive step forward. These individuals have embraced the United States as their home and
have, over decades, worked diligently, paid taxes, raised families, started businesses, and bought
homes.

A substantial majority of Americans, including approximately half of surveyed Republican

voters, strongly endorse the extension of work permits for individuals who have made long-term
contributions. Today, approximately 11.3 million U.S. citizens share a home with someone who
is undocumented, making this issue resonate in key electoral states like Nevada, Arizona,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Both recent arrivals and the long-standing undocumented community are susceptible to
dangerous work conditions and exploitation that often result when individuals lack access to
work authorization and the protections that come with it. It is our strong recommendation that in
the development of this program, worker safety and worker choice is prioritized, and a worker’s
legal presence is not solely tied to their employment by a single employer.

We must acknowledge that in the absence of long-awaited comprehensive reform from

Congress, we need to consider other significant actions that allow us to tap into the incredible
value immigrants bring to our workforce and communities. Your administration's proactive
stance in welcoming Afghan and Ukrainian refugees, and others through this policy is
commendable. We also applaud the extension of work authorization to recent migrants from
Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Honduras, Burma, El Salvador, and Haiti, but urge the same
protections and work authorization opportunities to recent arrivals from Mauritania, Angola,
Ecuador, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Legal scholars affirm your authority to extend work permits to long term immigrants, and the
support from 80+ members of Congress, American Business Immigration Coalition’s 300+
Employers, CEOs and Associations, as well as labor organizations like UNITE HERE, the
Teamsters, and United Auto Workers (UAW), underscores the broad consensus on this matter.

We acknowledge the challenges your administration faces, especially in responding to various

priorities including “Operation Lone Star”. Since this busing operation municipalities have
welcomed thousands of asylum seekers arriving from the US-Mexico border. Amidst
Congressional inaction to fix our broken immigration system, this is a unique opportunity to
change the tide from crisis to an opportunity, one that supports both new arrivals and long-term
undocumented residents.

There are several thoughtful ways to initiate this process. For example, your administration could
expand the existing program that grants "parole" to the spouses and parents of U.S. military
service members to include the 1.2 million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens. A work
permit program could focus on long-term undocumented individuals who have been in the nation
for 10 years or more, or a parole program could specifically address Dreamers who are too
young and ineligible for DACA.

Moreover, parole could be granted under significant benefit to the state as extending work
permits to long-term contributors is not only the morally right thing to do for our communities
but also a strategic move for our economy. Legally allowing long-term immigrants to work will
result in higher wages, shielding them from workplace exploitation and enabling them to
contribute more effectively to the labor market. This, in turn, will lead to increased tax
contributions, estimated at $13.8 billion annually. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office
predicted that the GDP of the U.S. economy is going to be boosted by $7 trillion over the next
ten years due to the contributions of new arriving immigrants.

Despite their lack of work authorization, long-term immigrants are valued members of
communities across this country. They add tremendous value to the U.S. economy as neighbors,
taxpayers, workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs. It is time we provided the security and
opportunity they have long yearned for. It is time to extend work permits to bring millions out of
the shadows. On behalf of our new residents and long-term immigrants, we urge you to use this
authority to everyone’s shared benefit.

Thank you.

Respectfully,

1. Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago, IL

2. Mayor Eric Adams, New York, NY
3. Mayor Timothy M. Keller, Albuquerque, NM
4. Mayor Val Pennington, Bellevue, PA
5. Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston, MA
6. Mayor Aaron Brockett, Boulder, CO
7. Mayor Barbara M. Foushee, Carrboro, NC
8. Mayor Jess Anderson, Chapel Hill, NC
9. Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County, IL
10. Mayor Mike Johnston, Denver, CO
11. Commissioner Sergio Coronado, Precinct 4, El Paso County, TX
12. Commissioner David Stout, Precinct 2, El Paso County, TX
13. Mayor Daniel Biss, Evanston, IL
14. Mayor Nancy Vaughan, Greensboro, NC
15. Mayor John Whitmire, Houston, TX
16. Mayor Steve Williams, Huntington, WV
17. Mayor Robert Cantelmo, Ithaca, NY
18. Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, Jackson, MS
19. Mayor Quinton D. Lucas, Kansas City, MO
20. Mayor John Giles, Mesa, AZ
21. Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Milwaukee, WI
22. Mayor Alix Desulme, North Miami, FL
23. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Orange County 2nd District, CA
24. Mayor Nann Worel, Park City, UT
25. Mayor Ed Gainey, Pittsburgh, PA
26. Mayor Brett P. Smiley, Providence, RI
27. Mayor Thomas P. McNamara, Rockford, IL
28. Mayor Melvin Carter, Saint Paul, MN
29. Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City, UT
30. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio, TX
31. Mayor London N. Breed, City & County of San Francisco, CA
32. Mayor Matt Mahan, San Jose, CA
33. Mayor Alan Webber, Santa Fe, NM
34. Mayor Phil Brock, Santa Monica, CA
 35. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Somerville, MA
36. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, St. Louis, MO
37. Mayor Victoria Woodards, Tacoma, WA
38. Mayor Michael A. Padilla, Topeka, KS
39. Mayor Thomas McLeod, Tukwila, WA
40. Mayor David Morse, Westbrook, ME
41. Supervisor Jim Provenza, Yolo County, California

cc: Vice President Kamala Harris

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)