Amid a three-day jaunt to Israel this week, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said the United States should learn from the Jewish state as to how it has integrated migrants into its society by allowing them to legally work.
The mayor has argued for months that expediting migrant work permits in the U.S. would allow newcomers to provide for themselves and move out of overburdened city shelters. The White House, however, has failed to take action despite calls from Adams and his top aides.
Adams said Tuesday that on his last trip to Israel in 2016, long before he took office, he witnessed a deluge of Ethiopian refugees.
Now, he said, he’s noticed that many of those Ethiopian refugees appear to have been integrated into Israeli society because they were permitted to work.
“It comes down to the right to work, something that you’ve heard me say over and over again in New York,” the mayor said in response to a question from amNewYork Metro during Tuesday’s press briefing. “The power of being able to work is the power to allow you to contribute to your society. And as I moved around, I saw the diversity in all areas. And it was clear that the people had a right to work. And I think that that is our pathway forward in America, allowing those over 100,000 migrants and asylum seekers that are here, and a substantial number that are across our country, we must give them the right to work.”
In 2015, the Israeli government granted thousands of Ethiopians claiming Jewish descent the right to immigrate to the country, according to a published report.
Adams gave the briefing in the evening of his first full day in Israel. The trip, which includes stops in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, has several stated purposes including reviewing Israeli technology to bolster public safety in the city, visiting religious sites and meeting with local government leaders.
Among the officials Adams met with were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon.
The mayor said he sees how Ethiopian migrants have contributed a great deal to Israel because they’ve been able to work and he hopes President Biden understands how that could help with the crisis at home.
“Their presence is a clear one. They are very much engaged in the public safety of the country and other services,” Adams said. “I believe that that should be a symbol to our country. And I’m hoping the White House does see the importance of allowing people the right to work.”
Absent expedited work authorizations from the feds, migrants must wait six months after formally applying for asylum to be eligible for working papers. Although a majority of those who have arrived in the city thus far haven’t yet filed asylum claims, Adams administration officials said in May.
Adams also thanked Governor Kathy for putting $20 million into speeding up casework for roughly 30,000 asylum seekers in the city’s care this week. The goal of the cash infusion, Hochul said, is to help move more migrants out of city shelters, which in many cases means assisting them in filing their asylum claims.
Hochul also announced on Monday the feds have granted tentative approval for the state and city to utilize Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Floyd as a shelter for housing over 2,500 migrants.
