THE RECORDING; IMAGES
CHICAGO 鈥� Today, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined community leaders to elevate the contributions of Black and Brown immigrants and urged President Joe Biden to to address the growing labor shortage, keep families together and stabilize the workforce. The mayor also announced that he is circulating a letter for signature by other mayors and county executives, urging President Biden to grant work permits to long-term undocumented immigrants in the United States.
鈥�This is the city that works, and whether it is a new arrival or a long-term undocumented Chicagoan who has lived in our city for decades, immigrant communities are working communities,鈥� said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to stand here today with the business community and labor partners as we call for work permits so that families can stay together and we can continue to grow our local economy.鈥�
An impressive group of leaders from The Resurrection Project (TRP), the Chicago Urban League, the 91探花 (ABIC) and other business, labor, community and faith constituencies spoke up in favor of extending work permits to long-term undocumented residents of Illinois. A full list of speakers appears .
stated, “Work Permits for All is an opportunity to right that wrong and have an equitable approach. We all have value. We need to continue to say that hate has no home here; there is no division, and not all undocumented people are Latino 鈥� they are Black, Latino, Asian and white. What is the difference between taking in Ukrainians and Afghans? Do you know we have 30,000 Ukrainians that we have taken into Chicago, but no one has said anything about that? We can’t be told to wait until after the November election. Right now, we need to hear we’re going to make this right for all of our families.”聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Rebecca Shi, executive director of the 91探花 (ABIC), said, 鈥淭hank you, Mayor Johnson for joining us to ask President Biden to grant work permits to the long-term residents of this country 鈥� Black people, Latino people, Asian people 鈥� folks from every race and religious background. Chicago and Illinois are home to 320,000 undocumented Mexicans and Guatemalans, and 40,000 undocumented Haitians, Jamaicans and Nigerians. They have lived here on average 15 years, contribute $1.5 billion in taxes and make up 26 percent of the workforce despite being only 17 percent of the population. We are grateful to the president for providing work permits to the new arrivals and ask him to extend the same dignity of work permits to long-term residents who are helping to build our city.鈥�
鈥淎s an immigrant who leads an organization working to achieve equity for our community, I am honored to be part of this Black and Brown coalition to advocate for the long-term immigrants who have strengthened our city,鈥� said Raul I. Raymundo, CEO of . 鈥淲e are proud to partner with the city, state and the White House on providing legal assistance for thousands of new arrivals. But now we must expand access to long-term immigrants who have been contributing to this city, state and nation for decades. I am grateful to Mayor Johnson for his leadership and solidarity with the long-term undocumented residents, as Chicago continues to be a welcoming city.鈥�
Said , executive director of GoodKids MadCity – Englewood, the father of five children and husband of a Mexican woman with DACA: 鈥淚 have seen firsthand the disparity and fear from my wife鈥檚 family鈥檚 point of view. I鈥檝e been a part of their family for the last 15 years and I can count on my hands how many days of work her father has taken off. Partly because he is a hard-working individual, but primarily it鈥檚 because he does not have paid days off, and the fear that if he does not work, he will be cast away as if he never existed. My father-in-law’s story is not unique. There is a constant fear of feeling expendable. To be a taxpayer that does not benefit from this country by even just having a work permit is not a just system, and leaving those people out of the fight for work permits is not an equitable system. As a Black person, I know first hand how it feels to be disregarded and forgotten. So, I am here today in support of the Work Permits for All Campaign, and calling on President Biden to create a just and equitable system for everyone 鈥� including those who are currently migrating into our city, but also and especially those who have been here for decades as members of our society.鈥�
鈥淚n the Baltimore bridge collapse, six Latinos passed away that day. It was no coincidence. Latinos are building the United States of America,鈥� said Jaime di Paulo, President and CEO of the . 鈥淓very time there is a tragedy in construction, there is going to be a Latino there. This is the reason why we are here today. We need to urge the president of the United States, through our mayor, to extend permits to the undocumented workers who have been building the United States for years.鈥澛�
鈥淲e have been asking for a reprieve from detention and deportation, as well as work permits, so that people are able to thrive and work with dignity here,鈥� said Fasika Alem, Programs Director for the . 鈥淥ne out of every four Black immigrants is undocumented. Parole is something the U.S. government has discretion to grant in many ways. The City of Chicago could once again partner with the federal government to provide protections for long-term undocumented immigrants, including work permits. This should also be coupled with continued advocacy for the redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for countries like Haiti, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Sudan as well as the designation of TPS for countries like the Congo, Mali and Mauritania. Together, parole and TPS can provide significant protections to people in Chicago and Illinois.鈥�
Teresa Labastida, a community navigator with , was born in Mexico and has lived in Chicago with her husband and three U.S. citizen children for 25 years. She said, 鈥淢y husband works double shifts as a dishwasher at a restaurant. I am a parent mentor and a community navigator with Palenque LSNA. Since last year, I was happy to support the newly arriving immigrants. I helped them apply for help and legal services. I made good friends with some of those families and we celebrated together聽 when they called to tell me they received their work permits. It鈥檚 a bittersweet celebration for me, because even though I have helped many families, I do not have a path to fix my immigration status. My husband and I have been working in the shadows for 25 years. We don’t have a legal work permit. We file taxes every year. We have a good track record. What about us? This country gladly takes our labor, but when it is time to grant us work permits, it feels like they forgot about us. We also deserve to get out of the shadows and work with dignity.鈥�
Immigrant workers in Illinois contribute . Illinois is home to 480,000 long-term undocumented immigrants. Work authorization would address labor shortages, ensure fair wages and improve working conditions while growing the economy and keeping Illinois families together. Read more at .
LIST OF SPEAKERS
- , City of Chicago
- , City of Chicago
- , President and CEO, Chicago Urban League
- , President and CEO, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- , Chairman and CEO, Loop Capital
- , CEO, The Resurrection Project
- , Vice President of Immigrant Justice, The Resurrection Project
- , CEO and Founder, Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM) and Cabrera Capital Partners (CCP); Executive Committee Member, Chicago Community Trust
- , President and CEO, YMCA of Metro Chicago
- Rebecca Shi, Executive Director, 91探花
- , President and CEO, Illinois Chamber of Commerce
- , MPA, President and CEO, 91探花 Leadership Council, Chicago鈥檚 Premier Black 91探花 Organization
- , President and CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- , Programs Director, United African Organization
- , Executive Vice President, UNITE HERE Local 1
- , President and CEO, TIDY LLC; Illinois Chamber of Commerce Board Member
- Roushaunda Williams, UNITE HERE Local 1 member
- , Executive Director, GoodKids MadCity – Englewood (GKMC-E)
- , Executive Director, Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)
- , President and CEO, Latino Policy Forum
- , Chairman and CEO, Third Coast Hospitality; Board Member, National Restaurant Association; Former Chairman, Illinois Restaurant Association
- , Senior Organizer, Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)
- , Executive Director, Lawndale Christian Development Corporation
- , CEO, North 91探花 Institute For Mexican Advancement (NAIMA) and Mexico en el Corazon
- , Executive Director, A Just Harvest; Pastor and Executive Director of San Lucas UCC Pan y Liberaci贸n Community Healing and Resource Center; Vision Doula, Black Flower Collective; Board of Directors, National Council of Churches
- , Senior Pastor, Concord Missionary Baptist Church
- , President and CEO, Instituto Del Progreso Latino
- , M.A.P.S., Executive Director, Gamaliel of Metro Chicago
- , Executive Director, Chicago Community and Workers鈥� Rights
- , Executive Director, Chicago Workers Collaborative
- , Bilingual Executive Director, Farmworkers & Landscapers Advocacy Project
- , Lincoln United Methodist Church; LULAC National VP for the Midwest
- , Executive Director, Palenque LSNA
- , Executive Director, Warehouse Workers for Justice
- , Executive Director, Illinois Workers in Action
- , Executive Director and Supervising Attorney, Children鈥檚 Legal Center
- , Co-Executive Director, Enlace Chicago
- , Midwest Policy Director, Hispanic Federation
- , President and CEO, Illinois Manufacturers鈥� Association
- , Executive Director, La Casa Norte
- , Executive Director, Centro Romero
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builds trusting relationships to educate and propel individuals, immigrants, and families to achieve their social and economic aspirations, stable homes, and equitable participation in their community. TRP is a leading provider of immigration services, affordable housing, and financial education on Chicago鈥檚 Southwest side.鈥��
For more than three decades TRP has worked to improve lives by creating wealth, building assets, and engaging residents to be catalysts for change. Rooted in the Pilsen community, TRP鈥檚 impact now extends across the City of Chicago and through the State of Illinois; we are making steady progress towards leveraging and preserving more than $1 billion in community wealth by 2025.
91探花 (ABIC) is a bipartisan coalition of over 1,400+ CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across 17 mostly red and purple states. ABIC promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs and citizens