by Bernadette Hogan, September 14, 2022
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Manhattan Councilwoman Gale Brewer are backing Mayor Eric Adams’ urgent request to get asylum seekers working — and say they’ll press Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to get it done.
Brewer penned a letter asking Schumer, Gillibrand and all the members of New York City’s congressional delegation to work their contacts at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to approve an emergency measure that would expedite processing times for employment authorization applications submitted by asylum seekers.
If green-lit, the measure could permit an eligible portion of the roughly 10,000 migrants that have come to the Big Apple from the southern border to work.
“We write to urge your support in requesting that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expedite processing times for applications for employment authorization (Form I-765) for individuals seeking asylum,” writes Brewer, Speaker Adams and five other members of the City Council in the letter, which will be sent on Thursday.
