Many migrants in Chicago are ineligible for federal protection status allowing them to get work permits
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There are more than 20,000 migrants in Chicago right now – with 12,281 n 25 shelters across the city, and more than 1,800 still awaiting placement.
CBS 2's Tara Molina has learned that only about a quarter of those 20,000 migrants – around 5,000 - are eligible for special protection and work permits made possible by the federal government. The process for applying for Temporary Protected Status to obtain work permits is not easy to begin with, and typically needs to be done with an attorney – but thousands do not even have the option to apply at all.
There are other routes for those people who are not eligible, but Molina is told they are longer and more difficult.
Federal Temporary Protected Status is made possible for nationals of certain countries designated unsafe by the Department of Homeland Security. People can only apply if they arrived in the U.S. by July 31.
If they're both eligible and approved for Temporary Protected Status, they can legally work and live in the United States for up to 18 months.
In Chicago, we know the majority of recent arrivals are from Venezuela - and according to the National Immigrant Justice Center, most of the people in Chicago who are eligible for the federal Temporary Protected Status are Venezuelans.
"Every individual; every family that we've met, is really, really eager to find a job; find a permanent place to live; get their kids enrolled in school; stabilize their families -- and honestly, contribute to their communities," said Lisa Koop, national director of legal services for the National Immigrant Justice Center. "They're prevented from doing so because they don't have a paper that says they're authorized to work."
Koop said her organization is meeting a lot of people who arrived in August and September – and thus are ineligible for Temporary Protected Status.
So what's next for them? The vast majority of people who aren't eligible for federal protection because they arrived after the deadline have applying for asylum as their only option.
Applying for asylum is a much more difficult process, Koop said.
"We have a lot of people -- a growing population of people -- who need some other form of relief, and so we'll look at those cases, we'll figure out who should be applying for asylum, and we'll do our very best to help connect those people with services and help them apply for asylum," Koop said. "Asylum, like I said, is such a long process. Once you even apply, you're waiting 150 days before you're even eligible to ask for employment authorization -- and then the path to ultimately having that application adjudicated is probably more like years."
Koop also addressed what happens for those who apply for Temporary Protected Status and have their applications denied.
"Many of them are already in removal proceedings. Almost everybody has had contact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and so they are already in the system and facing deportation. So if they don't have Temporary Protected Status to use as a defense against removal, there is a chance down the line they will be ordered removed and have a deportation order, if they don't have some other form of immigration benefit or protection."
Koop also emphasized that migrants' country of origin can stand in the way of getting Temporary Protected Status.
"Here in Chicago, the majority of recent arrivals have been Venezuelans, but that certainly doesn't reflect the entire population," she said. "There are Colombians, Ecuadorians, Haitians, Central Americans, who can't access this protection and who still remain in that legal limbo."
She called for Congress to pass legislation to deal with all these issues.
"We need Congress to do something so that people have a path to permanent status; to green cards; to citizenship," Koop said.
For those who are eligible for Temporary Protected Status, Molina is told the application typically takes around six months – but there is a push to expedite that to about a month.
So could the July 31 deadline be extended by the federal government? The office of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) pointed Molina to statements he made at an event last week, in which he worked with Ald. Bill Conway (34th) and Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) on helping migrants fill out Temporary Protected Status forms.
"Whether it will be extended, I can't say," Durbin said at the event.
The City of Chicago issued this statement on the issue:
The City of Chicago supports the Biden-Harris Administration, the State of Illinois, and the Resurrection Project in their efforts to expedite work authorizations for the City's new arrivals. The City of Chicago is focused on helping asylum seekers get on the path to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible and work authorization is a crucial step in that process.
Current estimates as of November 1, 2023 are as follows:
- Approximately 4,200 Venezuelans in the City's shelter system may be eligible for TPS (Temporary Protected Status) based on their arrival date.
- Approximately 2, 500 individuals in the City's shelter system may be eligible for EAD (Employment Authorization Documents) based on their self-report of their arrival circumstances.
NOTE: Approximately 5, 500 fall into at least one of the above categories and some fall into both categories.
