(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Elected officials and business leaders are intensifying their calls for the Biden Administration to allow migrants to work when they arrive in Illinois.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said it’s vital for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to speed up authorization for work permits for the thousands of asylum-seekers who are being sheltered in Chicago.
Other attendees of the Wednesday news conference in the Loop were Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who have been pressing the federal government about this issue since the crisis began. Durbin seemed hard-pressed to explain why the feds haven’t delivered yet.
“It’s a very contentious political issue, which reflects the divisions in our country and in Congress,” he said. “But we’re hoping the president has the authority to move in certain areas. We’ve identified some of those areas. I hope that he finds the will to that, and he might.”
Meanwhile, business leaders said they need workers in fields like hospitality and landscaping.
Johnson warned that Chicago will not be able to continue taking in the flow of migrants being sent here without more federal assistance.
Advocates hope pressure from officials and businesses will persuade the Biden Administration to act.
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