New York Has ‘10,000 Openings’ for Asylum-Seekers in State Workforce: Governor

Dozens of recently arrived illegal immigrants camp outside of New York's Roosevelt Hotel, which has been made into a reception center, as they try to secure temporary housing in New York City on Aug. 1, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking to attract illegal immigrants to work in the state workforce, claiming she has 10,000 unfilled jobs available to employ the individuals.

“Hotel owners and restaurant owners [have come] to me: ‘Can you send some of the migrants up here? We need them.’ I hear this in every corner of the state,” Ms. Hochul said during a news conference last week. “I have 10,000 openings in the New York State workforce. From our operations to SUNY (State University of New York), I have 10,000 openings.”

The governor, a Democrat, said she’s “anxious” to get the hiring process moving quickly.

“Once they’re approved, we can match people to jobs. They don’t need to be reliant on services any longer, which I think is the objective to not have people supported by taxpayers in our shelters.”

The New York Department of Civil Service said in a Jan. 12 document that the governor has identified 18,000 job openings with hundreds of employers willing to hire “migrants and asylum-seekers with legal work status in the United States.”

Currently, asylum-seekers have to wait for about six months, or sometimes years, to get work authorization once they submit an application. Illegal immigrants who haven’t yet received work permits are legally not allowed to work. Being employed without a work permit can result in deportation.

Related Stories

Some Congressional Democrats Say Senate Border Deal Too Restrictive on Illegal Immigrant Amnesty, Asylum

2/6/2024

Illegal Immigrants Suspected of Beating NYPD Cops Arrested in Arizona

2/6/2024

The issuance of such work permits is done by the federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Ms. Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have called on the federal administration to issue work permits faster to illegal immigrants.

State agencies have identified around 4,000 positions as part of their effort to employ asylum-seekers, according to the Jan. 12 document. Many of the positions are “hard-to-recruit, entry-level” that can be filled by “migrants and asylum seekers,” the document states.

However, it notes “several barriers” in employing such individuals. First, the education levels of asylum-seekers can’t be verified, which poses a problem as many of the jobs have qualifications such as completion of high school.

Some of the migrants have only “limited English proficiency.” Agencies may also find it difficult to verify the previous employment histories of illegal immigrants.

The department claims that the roles the agencies seek to fill with illegal immigrants are “mostly in the labor and noncompetitive classes.”

Such roles fall into the following categories—clerical/administrative support, engineering support, equipment service and repair, facilities operations, food service, and human services.

In a Feb. 5 op-ed at news outlet “am New York,” Joann Ariola, a Republican NYC councilwoman, denounced the move to hire illegal immigrants.

She pointed out that the jobs being set aside for asylum seekers would be “ideal for college students looking to find good, entry-level jobs following graduation.”

“With so much talk going on about the crushing levels of debt that our college graduates are experiencing, one must wonder why Ms. Hochul has not created a direct SUNY-to-government pipeline to fill these vacancies and help our next generation to pay off their loans.”

Lower Job Qualifications

The Department of Civil Service has suggested creating new, lower work standards to get illegal migrants into jobs through “transitional” titles.

Jobs with such “transitional titles” will have requirements “more in line with the candidates’ qualifications but still allow them to successfully perform the duties of the positions.” Such appointments would be temporary.

During this time, illegal immigrants are expected to obtain qualifications necessary for the “target” positions.

“Once they obtain the required qualifications, are reachable on appropriate eligible lists if exams are required, and if their work performance has been satisfactory, agencies may appoint them to the target titles.”

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) criticized the policy in a Feb. 1 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Now they’re lowering ‘the barriers to entry’ for migrants to get open state jobs,“ he said. ”Why isn’t this same courtesy extended to Upstate New York residents? And why isn’t there an effort to remove barriers for New Yorkers with disabilities?”

The plan to allow asylum-seekers to take up jobs in New York comes as the state has recorded a massive influx of illegal immigrants. More than 120,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York City over the past year, with 60,000 currently being housed at shelters run by the city.

Recently, two city police officers were beaten by a group of individuals believed to be illegal immigrants, an incident that has raised questions about the city’s sanctuary status policy. Being a sanctuary city means that law enforcement officials in the city generally won’t cooperate with the federal government.

During a Feb. 5 press conference, Kenneth Genalo, the field office director at the New York office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and others have urged an end to the city’s sanctuary status.

“We are here, we want to assist, we want to help. The problem is, due to city policies and state law, the cooperation is no longer afforded between NYPD and ICE,” he said.

“There are hundreds of people a week that are being arrested throughout the city, and if we can’t determine which are the most violent, we have to find out, unfortunately, through the media.”

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump believes the migrant crisis in New York might sway the traditionally Democrat state to support him in this year’s presidential election.

“Do I think we have a chance? New York has changed a lot in the last two years. We have migrants all over the street. They are living on Madison Avenue. Nobody can believe what’s happened to New York,” he said in a recent interview with Fox News.

“The people of New York are angry. People that would have never voted for me because I’m a Republican. I mean they’re Democrats ... I think they’re going to vote for me. So, I think we’re going to give New York a heavy shot.”