CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Dozens of undocumented workers rallied Saturday afternoon at Chicago’s Federal Plaza, where they called on city and federal leaders to provide them with the same work permits that have been granted to many newly arrived migrants and asylum workers.
“Work permits now,” they chanted.
Generations of undocumented workers showed up to the demonstration. Many were individuals who have lived and worked in the city for decades without the proper authorization — having paid taxes, raised children and otherwise assimilated in communities across the city and United States.
“We not only pay taxes, but we contribute so much to this country’s economy,” said Eduardo Rivero Burjos, a student at a local university.
He told WBBM that many people, including his mother, who worked as a lawyer in her home country of Honduras, have been putting their skills to waste. In his mother’s case, Rivero Burjos said she’s been working as a cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts for the past 18 years.
Even worse, he said many undocumented individuals are forced to work for cash under the table, which has left them vulnerable to unfair wages, among other challenges.
“That’s why we’re also fighting for this work permit, because it’s going to protect our undocumented immigrant communities from that exploitation,” he said. “It’s going to give them access to protection and access to the rights that they deserve.”
On Saturday, those gathered at Federal Plaza asked Mayor Brandon Johnson to be their advocate.
Johnson is expected to co-author a letter, along with other major city mayors, in which they will ask President Joe Biden to approve more work authorizations in an attempt to quell a major factor in the ongoing newly arrived migrant crisis.
Long-term undocumented workers told WBBM that they hope Johnson will also be standing up for them, too, in this letter.
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