Immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after crossing the border illegally are frustrated with the Biden administration for expediting work permits for new illegal immigrants, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Juana Arreguin, who arrived illegally from Mexico nearly 30 years ago, has had illegal migrants begging for money at her ice cream shop in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Biden administration has given some Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians expedited pathways to work permits, which Arreguin has found unfair.
“I wish I could help them, I know how it is to start from zero,” Arreguin said.
Arreguin and her husband used their savings from their time working without permits in Chicago to open the shop, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Arreguin is part of a community of thousands of illegal immigrants in Chicago asking the Biden administration for the same treatment, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Please don’t forget about us. We need job permits too,” Arreguin said.
The Biden administration granted Temporary Protected Status to roughly 472,000 in September, as well as an extension to 242,700 Venezuelans already protected by the temporary designation. Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans also have a pathway to expedited work permits through Biden administration programs through parole programs and other temporaryprotections.
“If I don’t speak up and show people what we’re capable of doing even without government support, who will?” Arreguin said. “They (politicians) need to realize that we’re no different from the new migrants who are also coming here for a better life. The only difference is that we have been here for decades and they have not acknowledged us even though we pay millions in taxes.”
Arreguin is one of many immigrant voices that’s spoken out for the community that’s been in the U.S. for decades, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“In each and every turn, longtime undocumented immigrants in the United States have seen other populations move forward and have been told to take the back seat and to wait,” said Angela Garcia, a sociologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago who focuses on issues concerning illegal immigrants from Mexico in Chicago.
Jennie Taer on December 4, 2023
