Garcia joins congressional colleagues in call for humanitarian parole expansion

Fresh off the announcement of a new push to get a Latino candidate slated for the Illinois Supreme Court, U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago, will join other members of Congress to call on the Biden administration to expand its migrant parole and work permit programs at a press conference on July 26 in Washington, D.C. 

Specifically, the group will call on President Biden to expand humanitarian parole and work permits to both new migrants as well as “long-term contributing immigrant workers.”

U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., will join Garcia and handful of business leaders, including Sergio Suárez, CEO of the North American Institute for Mexican Advancement.

In January, the Biden administration expanded its migrant parole process, previously in place only for migrants from Venezuela, to include migrants from Nicaragua, Haiti and Cuba. The process allows for up to 30,000 migrants from those countries to come to the U.S. for two years with work authorization — provided they “have an eligible sponsor and pass vetting and background checks.” 

That expansion prompted a lawsuit from 20 U.S. states, led by Texas. 

Other similar parole programs implemented by the Biden administration have been used to admit thousands of migrants from Mexico, as well as refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan. In April, Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia told The New York Times that Chicago businesses were seeing an influx of Ukrainians via the parole program because of ties between Illinois (especially Chicago) and Ukraine. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new family reunification parole program for migrants from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Last week, Garcia, Barragán and other House members, including Delia Ramirez and Mike Quigley, sent a letter to Biden asking for an expansion of these laws to help ease a backlog in processing the work permits that they say can be delayed as much as 15 months.

They wrote, “We urge your Administration to provide humanitarian parole and work permits to both recent migrants and those who have resided in the U.S. for decades; immigrants who have worked and paid local, state, and federal taxes, but without the freedom that comes with a work permit issued by immigration authorities. Not only have they contributed to our economy and culture, but they also have raised U.S.-born children, many of whom are now also tax-paying citizens.”

According to a release, the press conference will be streamed on Garcia’s Facebook page.