Readout of White House Meeting with Governor Hochul

Today, Senior Administration Officials met with New York Governor Kathy Hochul to discuss the ongoing efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to build a humane, safe, and orderly immigration system and efforts the Administration has taken to support communities across the country who are housing migrants and asylum seekers. 

The Administration officials and Governor agreed on a number of actions.

First, following the deployment of a Department of Homeland Security assessment team, the Administration highlighted data indicating that a substantial number of recent migrants who arrived in New York City are currently work eligible but have not yet applied to get a work permit. For example, nationwide, only around 16% of working age CBP One entrants have applied for work authorization. To date, roughly 20% of the noncitizens indicating New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania as their intended destination this year were paroled in following an appointment scheduled through CBP One and are eligible to work immediately, if they apply.  

In September, the Administration will work with New York State and New York City on a month of action to help close the gap between noncitizens who are eligible for work authorization and those who have applied, to meet labor needs in New York.  In the meeting, Administration officials committed to launching a first-of-its-kind national campaign – for individuals who are work-eligible but have not yet applied for work authorization – with information on how to apply for employment authorization. The individuals will receive direct communication by SMS and email, in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and other languages. This effort will include sending teams working across several lines of effort to support eligible migrants to apply for work authorizations. 

Second, the Administration officials and the Governor discussed a number of additional steps that federal Departments and Agencies – including the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Interior – will take to support New York – including support for the health, education, and housing of recent arrivals.  

The Administration officials and the Governor reiterated their commitment to continuing these conversations in the days and weeks ahead, and are calling on Congress to adequately resource programs to support communities receiving migrants and to pass immigration reform.  The Administration requested $600 million additional for the Shelter and Services Program in the Supplemental, and we continue to call on Congress to fulfil that request.

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