CHICAGO (CBS) — Years after arriving in the United States, some asylum seekers are only now receiving their asylum applications work permits – and an even longer list of newcomers awaits.
CBS 2 took a closer look at how on Monday the process work, and information about what takes so long.
Marlon Pulido described the wait for his work permit as “demorado,” or “delayed” – as it took him more than a year to receive it.
Pulido now works welding, assembling and inspecting equipment – a proud achievement. He is now at the forefront of rent and doing what he and his wife set out to do when they arrived from Colombia.
Pulido’s wife, Vicki Garson, said she and her husband support themselves, rather than relying on government assistance.
They said they are grateful for organizations that helped them stay in their apartments before they could pay their own expenses — Chalice House and the Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants.
Rosa Hernandez, director of case management for the Illinois Community for Displaced Immigrants, says asylum seekers seeking work permits face an uphill — and sometimes impossible — battle.
“There aren’t enough legal resources to begin with,” she said. “To apply for a work permit, you have to go through the procedure of applying for asylum, then you have to wait 150 days – and from then on you have to apply. However, there have been many problems. people who cannot even apply for asylum because there are not enough legal services available to them.”
The organization helped Pulido and Garson connect with legal resources. The city of Chicago is trying to do the same.
Last Thursday, CBS 2’s sources said the city was able to successfully submit 7,625 applications approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. But only 2,929 people have received their work permits and 2,862 have received a social security card.
CBS 2 is told that this is partly because so many people are not eligible due to their age, but also because of the time it takes to wait for asylum status.
“If they let them in at all, they should be able to start the process of getting a work permit,” Hernandez said.
There is also a backlog of people who have been in the United States for years before the last wave of immigration — and who are still waiting for their work permits.
Experts say there are more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants in Illinois.
