Attorney General Andrea Campbell penned a letter Wednesday to the Department of Homeland Security,urging the federal agency to speed up the employment process for immigrants who have entered the country legally and are eligible to work.
“Massachusetts is home to vibrant immigrant communities who want nothing more than an opportunity to work and support themselves and their families,” Campbell said in a statement. “Government should not needlessly delay those opportunities. The federal government can and must act to bring much-needed relief to families, shelters and social service programs across the Commonwealth and country.”
The letter, addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, was signed by 18 other Democratic attorneys general, including those from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The AGs called on the department to streamline work authorization permits to allow immigrants to get to work sooner. They also asked to establish a system that automatically renews work permits whenever a person’s immigration status is renewed, and to make the work permit application available online for those who need a fee waiver.
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Campbell’s action comes one week after Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency because of a critical housing shortage and the influx of migrants into Massachusetts.
“Many thousands of recent newcomers are eligible for work authorization, but permission to work has been needlessly delayed by inconsistencies in grants of parole and application processing delays,” the letter stated.
Additionally, the letter asked Mayorkas to allow immigrants who have applied for work permits to begin working while their applications are pending, if they have completed their legal entry into the country.
“Addressing processing delays will ensure that work-eligible newcomers will become self-sufficient as soon as possible and not be forced to rely on state resources,” the letter said. “We therefore urge immediate action to ensure work authorization for new arrivals to help meet our workforce needs, conserve safety net resources for the most vulnerable in our states, and provide our newcomers the opportunity to contribute to the country in which they have sought refuge.”
Healey and members of Congress also wrote their own letters to Homeland Security in recent weeks, similarly demanding the department expedite work authorizations for immigrants, in part to ease demand for services from the state and nonprofit sector.
“Massachusetts is committed to welcoming new immigrant arrivals. It is currently the only state in the country that guarantees a ‘right to shelter’ to families in need of assistance. But municipalities and nonprofits across Massachusetts are facing significant strain as they tirelessly work to meet the needs of families seeking shelter,” wrote federal lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey.
Both Healey and federal legislators have pointed to skyrocketing immigration numbers in Massachusetts, a state where more than 100 families a day seek emergency shelter, according to Healey. That number has jumped from 68 families a day in March, she said, and is more than double the 25 families a day who sought help from the state in March 2022.
“Although Massachusetts is adding shelter units every week, without extraordinary measures, we fear we will be unable to add capacity fast enough to place all eligible families safely into shelter,” Healey wrote. “We can no longer do this alone. We need federal partnership, federal funding, and urgent federal action to meet this moment and to continue to serve some of our most vulnerable families.”
Ivy Scott can be reached at ivy.scott@globe.com. Follow her @itsivyscott.