Boston's top prosecutor is leading the charge, with a coalition of state attorneys general putting pressure on Homeland Security to further fast-track work permits for immigrants who've recently hit U.S. soil. In a letter sent yesterday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, flexing legal muscle alongside counterparts from Illinois and New York, is pushing for the feds to make life easier for those in the immigration pipeline eager to get to work.
According to Mass.gov, the state legal eagles, a squad of nineteen in total, are rallying behind the Department of Homeland Security’s recent efforts to slash wait times on work permit processing. But it's not enough. DHS previously sliced the average wait for certain immigrants down to just 30 days and stretched the validity of work permits up to five years for some, but AG Campbell, joined by her colleagues, says that's only a step in the right direction. They want provisional work authorizations handed out like candy, fees tossed out the window, and an autopilot renewal system for paroles that time out while paperwork gathers dust.
Spelling trouble for social services already stretched thin by the influx of newcomers, Campbell's united front insists on eliminating the fees tagged to work authorization applications, or at least smoothing the path to waivers. They're touting a proactive approach, advising DHS to renew parole status on the fly when it expires mid-application, and to crank up the efficiency of the whole system with simultaneous parole and work permit applications, among other streamliners.
AG Campbell is no stranger to standing up for immigrants, having already spearheaded the August initiative urging DHS to get a move on. The Attorney General's office didn’t just stop with letters; they’ve poured nearly a million in grant bucks into the hands of legal services aiding migrants, and Campbell recently took legal swings at a Neo-Nazi group for allegedly intimidating newcomers. "Our state and our social services continue to bear excessive and avoidable burdens as a result," Campbell told Mass.gov in highlighting the implications of bureaucratic drag.
The call for action lands with the weight of signatures from AGs far and wide, including Arizona, Connecticut, and a dozen others. It's a strong message to Uncle Sam’s doorstep — cut the red tape, let the newcomers get to work, and by reducing the load on America's support systems, let the nation's melting pot keep simmering.
