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Some business owners were angered by President Biden’s decision to grant hundreds of thousands of work permits to illegal immigrants, according to a new report.
Last September, The Biden administration announced that it would be offering hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and thousands of Afghan nationals already in the U.S. – including those in the country illegally – work permits and protections from deportations, amid a historic surge at the southern border.
Chicago restaurant owner Sam Sanchez told The New York Times he was upset by the decision, feeling that the new migrants were getting benefits ahead of his employees who’ve been in the country for decades.
“It’s offensive that my employees and other immigrants are being leapfrogged by new arrivals,” Sanchez, who is on the board of the National Restaurant Association, told the Times.
USA Today was blasted on social media after one of its reports claimed that President Biden has “clamped down” on illegal immigration. (Getty Images)
Immigrants who’ve been working in the U.S. for years also told the paper they were upset about the move.
“For those of us here a long time trying to do everything right, it’s just not fair that we are forgotten,” Juan, whose immigration status was not revealed, said in the report.
Many Latino voters don’t agree with Biden helping new arrivals over immigrants who’ve come here legally or worked in the U.S. for decades, argued Eduardo Gamarra, a professor at Florida International University who recently polled Latino voters in the U.S. about their views on immigration.
“When you try to say, ‘Why are you supporting these positions?’ they will tell you, one, ‘We don’t like illegals,’ even though they might have been illegal themselves,’” Dr. Gamarra explained in the report.
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Migrants at the front of the line are processed for entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
Biden is also getting pressured from sanctuary city leaders and immigration activists who want his administration to authorize work permits to everyone who’s in the country illegally.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have urged DHS to extend existing work permits for illegal immigrants, arguing that thousands will lose their jobs, businesses will suffer and districts will find it harder to cater to new asylum seekers.
Earlier this month, Johnson pushed the Biden administration to grant work permits to nearly 500,000 illegal migrants. Johnson also said Chicago, which has roughly 2.7 million people, can “conservatively” welcome another 400,000 to 700,000 illegal migrants.
The Chicago Sun Times editorial board blasted this move last week. The board argued allowing this many migrants work permits would sow more chaos and the southern border and hurt President Biden politically.
“Our immigration system sorely needs a fix. But asking the president to authorize work permits to millions of undocumented immigrants, including 500,000 in Illinois, is the wrong workaround — and might not withstand judicial scrutiny,” the board wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News’ Jamie Joseph, and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.
