Facing a major crisis in an election year, the Biden administration is trying to take a more active role in helping arriving asylum seekers get a job.

On Thursday, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su hosted a discussion with local stakeholders, including labor unions, state officials and members of the mayor’s office to talk about getting migrants into the labor force.  


What You Need To Know

  • Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was in New York on Thursday convening a roundtable focused on helping migrants with jobs.

  • The roundtable included labor, local and state officials discussing how to best connect migrants with work authorization to available positions

  • The meeting comes as the White House has faced criticism for their lack of aid in the influx of migrants

  • So far, nearly 180,000 migrants have come to the city with more than 64,000 in the city's care

“Every single worker should have a good job. Every single New Yorker should have a good job and that includes newcomers,” said Su.

Su said some industries that were discussed on Thursday included retail and construction.

“We’re definitely looking to create new career pathways into existing industries, but also industries the president has said we can build those in America. We’re going to have advanced manufacturing and we’re going to build stuff here. We can have clean energy and create a supply chain here,” said Su.  

The meeting comes as city officials said they have helped migrants complete more than 36,000 applications for Temporary Protected Status, work authorization and asylum.

Federal officials said the meeting was the beginning of a labor network.

Su also noted that part of the network’s goals will be making sure migrants who do get a job are aware of their rights and aren’t being exploited.  

“This is really a way to fill the desire of immigrants who have work authorization for jobs, as well as the need employers have for workers,” said Su.

The meeting comes as both the state and city are asking for more financial aid.

The White House has provided more than $100 million in funding, a drop in the budget bucket compared to the billions the city has spent on housing and feeding migrants.

Any additional aid would probably come from Presiden Joe Biden’s bipartisan border deal struck in the Senate — which has been rejected by House Republican leaders.

“Within that package includes everything from billions more for things like shelter, that are so sorely needed that we hear from people in New York and all across the country every single day. But it also has things like more judges to make sure these situations are adjudicated in a more efficient manner,” said Daniel Koh, deputy director of the White House office of intergovernmental affairs.

Koh added that if the city and state need additional help to fill out applications that they would be open to holding more temporary legal clinics.

“I think we want to continue to work with the mayor’s office and the state. If they feel the need for further clinics, then were definitely open to having that conversation,” he said.

Getting migrants into stable jobs has been a big focus of state and local officials who have cited the growing costs to house and feed thousands of new arrivals.

Nearly 180,000 migrants have come to the city with more than 64,000 in the city’s care, according to officials.