The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas 

Secretary of Homeland Security 

245 Murray Lane, SW 

Washington, DC 20528 

December 21, 2023 

Dear Secretary Mayorkas: 

We, the Attorneys General of Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Connecticut, 

Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, 

New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington write to request 

that you take additional, prompt action to speed access to work authorization for eligible new 

arrivals in our states. We are grateful for the meaningful actions you announced in September to 

expedite and expand access to work authorization. These steps are vitally important to ensure 

that the large number of newcomers arriving every day can survive and thrive in our 

communities and our economy. But more must be done to eliminate the barriers that prevent 

recent immigrants from securing the work authorization they need to support themselves and 

their families. We also urge you to address the disparate impact these barriers pose to certain 

communities, such as the Haitian community, who have a history of being placed in a cruel and 

heartbreaking position: entering the U.S. with no pathway for legal, dignified employment, and 

significantly restricted access to other resources. Without additional changes, we will see more 

new arrivals unable to afford basic necessities like housing and food, and our state and local 

governments and nonprofit organizations may struggle to provide an adequate safety net for 

those most in need. 

Our states have seen thousands of new arrivals in recent months, many lawfully paroled into this 

country, and many of whom are seeking refuge from dangerous conditions in their home 

countries. We have welcomed these newcomers proudly as part of a long tradition of celebrating 

vibrant immigrant communities and their contributions to our states. Many of these parolees and 

asylum seekers are eligible for work authorization and fervently want to work, but they face 

unnecessary barriers and delays in the application process that prevent their entry into the 

workforce. When parolees and asylum seekers are unable to legally work, many must turn to our 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

state and local safety net programs for food and shelter.1 Others—including too many families 

with children in some cases—have been forced to sleep in hospitals, police stations, and even in 

the streets.2 Many have no choice but to take jobs in the underground economy, where they are at 

risk of exploitation and abuse at the hands of unscrupulous employers.3 

Many recently-arrived migrants and asylum seekers find that the current procedures to apply for 

work authorization are arduous and difficult to navigate. For some parolees, the fees or fee 

waiver requirements are insurmountable barriers. It is no surprise that only 16% of working age 

“CBP One” entrants had applied for work authorization as of the end of August 2023.

4 Lengthy 

processing times continue to affect many applicants, with current processing times still at 3.5 

months for parolees.

5 Many applicants who have successfully applied for work authorization 

face long delays. During those delays, parolees have no assurances as to how long they will be 

eligible to work if their applications are eventually approved. Until earlier this year, some 

parolees, and Haitians in particular, were granted humanitarian parole for such short periods of 

time that they could not secure employment authorization before their parole and work 

authorization eligibility expired.6 Recent reports document the significant and disparate impact 

of these barriers on survivors of gender-based violence.

7 

1 See, e.g., “Governor Healey Activates National Guard to Provide Services at Emergency Shelter Sites,” Governor 

Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll (Aug. 31, 2023), available at https://www.mass.gov/news/governorhealey-activates-national-guard-to-provide-services-at-emergency-shelter-sites; “State’s Emergency Assistance

Director and United Way of Massachusetts Bay Announce New Partnership to Support Safety Net Options for 

Homeless Families,” Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll (Nov. 7, 2023), available at 

https://www.mass.gov/news/states-emergency-assistance-director-and-united-way-of-massachusetts-bay-announcenew-partnership-to-support-safety-net-options-for-homeless-families; “Governor Pritzker Announces Plan to

Improve Asylum Seeker Emergency Response,” Governor J.B. Pritzker (Nov. 16, 2023) available at 

https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.27307.html; “Gov. Pritzker calls on President Biden to increase federal 

support for ‘overwhelming’ migrant crisis.” CBS News (Oct. 3, 2023) available at 

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/jb-pritzker-letter-president-biden-migrant-crisis/ (describing the state’s 

dedication of over $330 million to provide humanitarian aid to the migrant crisis). 2 Luis Ferré-Sadurní, As Winter Approaches, Fears Grow for Homeless Migrants, NY Times (Dec. 4, 2023), 

available at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/nyregion/nyc-migrant-crisis-cold.html; Daniella Silva, Chicago 

scrambles to house migrants as winter approaches, NBC News (Nov. 26, 2023), available at 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-scrambles-house-migrants-winter-approaches-rcna125581; Matt 

Stout, The ‘right thing to do.’ YMCA opens doors to migrant families sleeping in MBTA office building, Boston

Globe (Nov. 29, 2023), available at https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/29/metro/mbta-migrant-shelter-ymca/. 3 Stories from Immigrant Survivors of Gender-Based Violence: The Impact of Work Authorization, Her Justice 

(Nov. 2023) at 18, 22-26, available at https://herjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Her-Justice-Policy-ReportImpact-of-Work-Authorization.pdf (describing a domestic violence survivor’s experience doing informal work

babysitting and cleaning houses and other survivors’ employment experiences before they obtained work

authorization). 

4 “Readout of White House Meeting with Governor Hochul” (Aug. 30, 2023), The White House, available at 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/08/30/readout-of-white-house-meeting-withgovernor-hochul/ 5 USCIS Case Processing Times available at https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ 6 See Humanitarian Parole Crisis: How Racist Policies and Practices Deny Haitian Refugees Work Authorization 

(TakeRoot Justice and Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees), at 5 (Nov. 2023), available at 

https://haitianwomen.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/executive_summary-draft_english_design.pdf. 7 Stories from Immigrant Survivors of Gender-Based Violence: The Impact of Work Authorization, Her Justice 

(Nov. 2023), available at https://herjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Her-Justice-Policy-Report-Impact-ofWork-Authorization.pdf. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addressing processing delays and other barriers to applying for work authorization will ensure 

that work-eligible newcomers become self-sufficient as soon as possible and do not have to rely 

on state resources that are reserved for the most vulnerable people in our states. The changes 

announced on September 20, 2023 will make a significant difference in reducing processing 

delays and newcomers’ dependence on state resources. Those changes include: decreasing the 

average work authorization processing time for certain parolees to 30 days; increasing the time 

period during which a work authorization is valid to up to five years for asylum seekers and 

refugees; ensuring that the parole period for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan 

parolees is generally two years; and notifying certain parolees of their eligibility to apply for 

work authorization. We also appreciate the Administration’s successful recent efforts to partner 

with state and local officials on work authorization clinics that allow for expedited processing of 

a large number of applications by USCIS personnel on site, including fee waivers and 

biometrics.

8 We urge DHS to expand that model by offering ongoing clinics or other in-person 

processing options, and consider granting work authorization simultaneously. 

More can and should be done in the immediate term so that people who are eligible to work can 

do so without undue delay or burden. These changes can be implemented immediately and will 

help families avoid homelessness, preserve the availability of state and local safety net programs 

to support those in crisis, and ensure newly arrived immigrants can contribute to our economy. 

We request that DHS take the following urgent steps: 

1. Grant Provisional Work Authorization Upon Application: In light of ongoing delays with 

application processing and backlogs, eligible parolees and asylum seekers who have 

applied for work authorization should be granted provisional authorization to work while 

their applications are pending. USCIS should create a streamlined process to allow those 

seeking work authorization to demonstrate their ability to work lawfully while their 

applications are awaiting review and final approval. 

2. Eliminate Fees: Parolees face hefty fees for the work authorization application unless 

they can demonstrate eligibility for a fee waiver, which requires significant 

documentation. For many new arrivals, that is a barrier that at best leads to delay and at 

worst is insurmountable. DHS should exempt people granted humanitarian parole from 

work authorization application fees, as is done for some parolees and asylum seekers. At 

a minimum, applications for work authorization with a fee waiver should be available 

online, so eligible applicants do not have to go through the more arduous and slow paper 

application process. 

8 NYC Legal Clinic Blitz Assists Nearly 2000 Asylum Seekers Obtain Work Permits, New York Immigration 

Coalition (Oct. 13, 2023), available at https://www.nyic.org/2023/10/nyc-legal-clinic-blitz-assists-nearly-2000-

asylum-seekers-obtain-work-permits/; Michael Loria and Lynn Sweet, Biden migrant work permit clinic launches in 

Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times (Nov. 9, 2023), available at https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/11/9/23954032/bidenmigrant-work-authorization-clinic-launches-chicago; “Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces Upcoming Work 

Authorization Legal Clinic in Partnership with DHS,” Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll (Oct. 

30, 2023), available at https://www.mass.gov/news/healey-driscoll-administration-announces-upcoming-workauthorization-legal-clinic-in-partnership-with-dhs. 
 

 

3. Re-parole Those Awaiting Work Authorization: Prior to DHS’s efforts to speed up 

processing times and standardize the period of parole, parolees often saw their parole 

status expire while their work authorizations were pending. After their parole expired, 

many of these individuals remained in the United States to pursue asylum applications. 

This meant that in order to work while their asylum application was pending, they would 

have to re-apply for the permit as an asylum seeker versus a parolee, which is an arduous 

and slow process. DHS should implement a process to re-parole individuals whose parole 

expired while their work authorization was pending for an additional two years. This 

would allow individuals – whose ability to work is dependent on DHS’s ability to process 

work authorizations in a timely manner – to benefit from the more streamlined work 

authorization processes announced in September. 

4. Streamline Application Processes to Relieve Burdens on Migrants and the Agency: DHS 

should consider streamlining processes and enacting technical fixes that would eliminate 

administrative burdens for both the applicants and DHS. For example, we suggest DHS 

allow individuals to apply for work authorization at the same time as they request parole; 

ensure that information provided to CBP in parole applications is also available to USCIS 

to process work authorization requests; provide notification to those eligible for work 

authorization that they can apply; shorten and simplify the work authorization Form I-765 

and translate the form and instructions into multiple languages; and provide in-person 

processing and approval of work authorizations in cities and states with large numbers of 

recent parolees. 

These four recommendations are only a few of the many additional steps that would help 

individuals and families who recently arrived to enter the workforce instead of having to rely on 

support and resources from our state programs. 9 

We appreciate the fact that legislative action is needed to effect compassionate and 

comprehensive immigration reform to fully address these challenges, and we welcome the 

opportunity to advocate together for that reform. But with the urgent need we see in our states, 

we simply cannot and need not wait for Congress to act. We therefore urge swift action to ensure 

that eligible immigrants can work to support their families, achieve self-sufficiency, and fuel our 

economy. 

Sincerely, 

Kwame Raoul 

Illinois Attorney General 

Andrea Joy Campbell 

Massachusetts Attorney General 

9 Some of those additional steps are outlined in a recent letter from Senator Warren to Secretary Mayorkas and 

Director Jaddou. See November 2, 2023 Letter from Senator Warren et al., available at 

https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letter%20to%20DHS%20on%20EADs%20(signed).pdf. 
Letitia James 

New York Attorney General 

Kris Mayes 

Arizona Attorney General 

William Tong 

Connecticut Attorney General 

Kathleen Jennings 

Delaware Attorney General 

Brian L. Schwalb 

District of Columbia Attorney General 

 

 

Anne E. Lopez 

Hawaii Attorney General 

Anthony G. Brown 

Maryland Attorney General 

Dana Nessel 

Michigan Attorney General 

Keith Ellison 

Minnesota Attorney General 

Aaron D. Ford 

Nevada Attorney General 

Matthew J. Platkin 

New Jersey Attorney General 

Raúl Torrez 

New Mexico Attorney General 

 

 

Ellen F. Rosenblum 

Oregon Attorney General 

Michelle A. Henry 

Pennsylvania Attorney General 
Peter Neronha 

Rhode Island Attorney General 

Charity R. Clark 

Vermont Attorney General 

Bob Ferguson 

Washington Attorney General 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

Office of the Director (MS 2000) 

Camp Springs, MD 20588-0009 

March 11, 2024 

The Honorable Kwame Raoul 

Attorney General of Illinois 

500 South Second St 

Springfield, IL 62701 

Dear Attorney General Raoul: 

Thank you for your December 21, 2023 letter to the Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS). I am responding on behalf of the Department. The Administration has taken 

unprecedented actions to expand lawful pathways to the United States to incentivize safe, 

orderly, and humane migration and to discourage irregular migration at the hands of smugglers 

and transnational criminal organizations. Ultimately, only Congress can make the legislative 

changes needed to address and update our broken immigration system, but we appreciate the 

administrative proposals in your letter. 

DHS recognizes the importance of work authorizations for noncitizens and recently 

increased the maximum available validity period to five years for both initial and renewal 

employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain noncitizens, including applicants for 

asylum and those granted asylum, among others.1

 This measure is intended to significantly 

reduce the number of requests U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receives for 

renewal EADs, which will contribute to a reduction in both processing times and backlogs. Since 

early 2024, USCIS completed 91% of initial EAD applications filed by asylum applicants within 

30 days, and 98% were completed within 60 days. 

With respect to EADs for individuals who have a pending asylum application, section 

208(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states that employment authorization 

shall not be granted to an asylum applicant prior to the expiration of the 180-day period after the 

date of filing the asylum application. Therefore, only Congress can reduce or eliminate the 180-

day EAD eligibility period for asylum applicants. However, asylum applicants may file their 

application for EADs 150 days after they file their asylum application. 

1 USCIS Increases Employment Authorization Document Validity Period for Certain Categories, available at: 

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-increases-employment-authorization-document-validity-period-forcertain-categories. 
The Honorable Kwame Raoul 

Page 2 

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, in early September 2023, DHS launched a first-of-its-kind national 

campaign for noncitizens who are work-eligible but who have yet to apply for an EAD. Through 

a series of emails and text notifications, USCIS began reaching out to several groups of 

individuals to remind them of their eligibility to apply for employment authorization. These 

groups included those who received parole through the new Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and 

Venezuela (CHNV) parole processes, the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) parole process, or after 

obtaining a CBP One appointment and presenting at a port of entry, and those who have a 

pending Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, with USCIS. As 

of early February 2024, USCIS sent approximately 2 million email and text notifications in 

English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Ukrainian, and Russian. USCIS will continue to work on 

additional technological and communications solutions to further expedite processing timelines, 

ensure noncitizen migrants know they are eligible to apply for an EAD, and provide information 

on how to apply for an EAD. 

Since then, USCIS has received more than 26,000 requests for work authorization and 

has approved more than 13,000 applications. USCIS is also providing intake and biometrics 

collection at sites in certain states and cities assisting individuals who have not yet filed an EAD 

application after scheduling a CBP One appointment and receiving a favorable grant of parole, as 

well as Venezuelan nationals who are filing for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). USCIS has 

provided these on-the-ground services in New York City, Chicago, Boston, and Denver, serving 

more than 17,000 individuals, resulting in over 11,000 approved work permits. 

You also propose USCIS eliminate fees for EAD applications filed by certain parolees. 

Except for limited funds appropriated for specific functions, USCIS is a fee-funded agency. 

Section 286(m) of the INA authorizes DHS to charge fees for adjudication and naturalization 

services at a level to “ensure recovery of the full costs of providing all such services, including 

the costs of similar services provided without charge to asylum applicants or other immigrants.”2 

USCIS recognizes noncitizens are paroled into the United States for a variety of reasons and 

circumstances and some noncitizens paroled into the United States have the ability to pay the 

Form I-765 filing fee. USCIS has a long-standing process in place that allows individuals who 

are unable to pay a filing fee to seek a fee waiver for certain forms and benefit types. Individuals 

can apply for a fee waiver using the Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or a written request. In 

general, USCIS reviews these requests on a case-by-case basis to determine whether a fee waiver 

should be granted as a matter of discretion in a particular case. 

USCIS remains committed to reviewing individual fee waiver requests on a case-by-case 

basis in a fair and efficient manner. In FY 2023, USCIS processed approximately 689,800 fee 

waiver requests, of which 89 percent were approved – totaling approximately $369 million. 

Furthermore, the vast majority of fee waivers were processed within days, ensuring the 

processing of the underlying benefit was not severely delayed due to a fee waiver request. 

USCIS also remains committed to expanding the number of forms available for online filing, 

including fee waiver requests. 

2 8 U.S.C. 1356(m). 
The Honorable Kwame Raoul 

Page 3 

 

 

Thank you again for your letter and interest in these important issues. Please share this 

response with your fellow State Attorneys General who cosigned your letter. Should you have 

any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Sincerely, 

Ur M. Jaddou 

Director