Gov. Hochul Prioritizes Undocumented Immigrant Jobs Amid Rising Unemployment

As New York City struggles to absorb the impact of tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants over the past year, even far-left leaders like Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul acknowledge that the current situation is unsustainable.

Instead of pushing for increased border security and immigration law enforcement, however, these Democratic leaders instead claim that they simply need more money and a way to ensure that the immigrants flooding communities across the state are able to find jobs.

Hochul has spent the past several weeks clamoring for more federal funds and increased job assistance at the state level. Most recently, she announced an initiative within the New York State Department of Labor that would serve as an intermediary between immigrants and businesses with job openings. 

Linking to the labor department’s website, the governor’s office wrote: “All asylum seekers with work authorization in New York can now register for assistance here. DOL career experts will work with individuals to assess skills, work history, education, career interests and more, and connect them with employers across the State. Additionally, the New York State Department of Labor launched a portal enabling businesses to inform the State that they would welcome newly-authorized individuals into their workforce.”

Of course, with more than 380,000 legal residents of New York unemployed as of last month, critics of Hochul’s plan say she should be more focused on helping those who did not violate the law to arrive in her state.

Nevertheless, she continues to put pressure on the Biden administration to rescind federal employment restrictions for undocumented immigrants.

“For me, the answer to these two crises — a humanitarian crisis and our workforce crisis — is so crystal clear and common sense,” she claimed. “Let them get the work authorizations; let them work; legally, let them work.”

Although Adams has not always agreed with the governor’s stance on the immigration issue, he expressed support for her current efforts.

“We appreciate Governor Hochul’s acknowledgment of the incredible work that New York City has done to manage the influx of tens of thousands of asylum seekers in the last year, and we are gratified to hear that she is calling for immediate federal action,” the mayor asserted.