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BOSTON – Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell recently joined Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Attorney General Letitia James of Illinois and New York as co-leaders of a 19-state coalition of attorneys general sending a letter to the federal Department of Homeland Security regarding immigration.
In the letter, the coalition applauded recent departmental action to expedite work authorization permits for lawfully paroled immigrants and asylum seekers, which include decreasing the average work authorization time for certain parolees to thirty days, while also urging the department to take additional steps to address the steady stream of new arrivals.
Recommendations by the coalition include expediting provisional work authorizations for eligible migrants, reducing financial burdens for migrants by eliminating fees or offering fee waivers for work authorization applicants and renewing paroles for those whose parole expired while waiting for work permits.
By streamlining the process and following these recommendations, the coalition hopes to ease the burdens borne by government and nonprofit agencies, such as housing and food programs struggling to accommodate new migrants.
“While we are grateful for DHS’s recently announced changes to expedite and expand access to work authorization for recently arrived immigrants, new arrivals in Massachusetts and across the country continue to experience delays in being granted work permits to support themselves and their families,” said Campbell.
“Our state and our social services continue to bear excessive and avoidable burdens as a result. It is crucial that DHS promptly take additional steps to bring much-needed relief to families, shelters, and social service programs here in the Commonwealth and throughout the country,” she said.
Regional neighbors Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut were also represented in the coalition.
Last month, Campbell’s office distributed one million in grant funds to 13 legal services organizations to help expedite work permits.
Campbell also sued the Neo-Nazi group NSC-131 for maliciously targeting new migrants at the hospitals in which they were sheltered.
To view the letter, click here.
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