Migrants bussed to New York struggle to find jobs amid worker shortage

Migrants bussed to New York from Republican states
are finding it difficult to get work, an NBC News report says. Thousands of
migrants had been moved in buses from Republican border states to New York and
other Blue states in a bid to give Democrats a taste of what Biden’s border
policies are doing.

Yorvin Mateus, a 24-year-old Venezuelan migrant,
has failed to find work after a month. “I just want to work and be able to fend
for myself, not depend on the government,” he told NBC News while he was
sitting with two other friends at a newly-erected tent shelter on Randall’s
Island.

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Nearly 21,400 migrants have been bussed to New
York. Mateus and his friends travelled to the United States fleeing Venezuela’s
political instability and economic collapse. The men said they were in a
shelter in Brooklyn borough before being sent to Randall’s Island.

At its peak, New York had to declare an emergency
to cater to the thousands of migrants coming into the state on buses. However,
of late, the bussing has slowed. Meanwhile, volunteers have scrambled to find
shelter, food and clothing for them.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has opened dozens of
emergency hotels to house the migrants, including a hotel midtown.

“It’s been difficult for us. The situation is
worrying because I have four children to take care of and we don’t know how
long they will let us stay here,” said Jan Rojas, a 30-year-old migrant, also
from Venezuela. For him too, the worry is the same – the lack of a job.

He says that every time he goes to find a job, he
is turned away because he does not have documents. Asylum seekers are not
allowed to obtain work permits until 150 days of submitting their applications.
Thus, their only option is to find work under the table. But that has been
difficult to come by.

Mayor Eric Adams has called upon the federal
government to address the work restrictions. “Clearly, we need national
immigration policies. You can’t have individuals come to a country and cannot work
for six months when they’re capable to do so and we have an employee shortage
in many places,” he added.