The state is legally barred from issuing work permits for migrants, which leaders have said would help alleviate the continuing crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.
Hochul said her office looked into the possibility of issuing state work permits for the wave of asylum seekers arriving in New York, but that plan would leave employers legally vulnerable to federal immigration laws.
“I’m constrained by the law,” Hochul told reporters Monday.
“I cannot indemnify or protect the employers from any kind of federal prosecution for violating immigration laws. That’s the only barrier. It’s a big one.”
Under the plan first alluded to in September, migrants would’ve been hired by the state then subcontracted out to other employers as a way to get around a beleaguered federal system for approving work permits for asylum seekers.
White House officials have previously said the didn’t endorse the idea.
Federal law requires asylum seekers to wait 150 before being considered for a work permit. That timeline is exacerbated further because of backlogs in the approval system.
Without action from the feds, states like New York are stuck operating within current immigration laws prescribing work requirements.
With Congress deadlocked on the issue of immigration, it’s unlikely the current system for work authorizations will change in the near future.
Hochul also continued her calls Tuesday for additional federal funding to support the city and states’ efforts to manage the asylum seekers crisis.
She called on members of congress to support a supplemental funding request from President Joe Biden that would pump cash towards the migrant crisis as well natural disaster recovery and supporting Ukraine and Israel.
“New York urgently needs federal dollars to support our emergency efforts here at home,” the Governor wrote in a statement.
The state is committed to spending nearly $2 billion to support New York City in paying for migrant-based expenses. Hochul’s budget chief warned in a memo that the state must narrow that spending in next year’s budget.