The 100,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City since last spring didn’t come here to roil our politics — they came in search of a better life and safety for their families. As the proud son of Afro-Latino immigrants, I know how vital immigration is to our city and state.
From its earliest days, immigrants have built New York City into the financial and cultural capital of the world. I cannot conceive of my hometown without the previous waves of Chinese, Latin, Irish, Italian, Jewish and Caribbean immigration — just to name a few! — that have all contributed so much to New York’s success.
It’s also true that the current migrant wave is different from prior ones, and instead of seeing this moment as an opportunity to build a stronger and more affordable city for everyone, New Yorkers have been subject to an endless feedback loop of name-calling, blame-shifting and lacking leadership.
It’s time to step up with creative and thoughtful solutions, just as previous New York leaders have turned earlier challenges into opportunity.
Let’s start with a simple but paramount principle: every New Yorker, including our newest arrivals, should have a path to gainful and safe employment. With support from the state, the city should launch a program to centralize job opportunities and easily connect them to residents of all backgrounds.
Similar to the city’s enormously successful IDNYC program, “WorkNYC” could provide applicants with a locally-valid credential containing basic information along with any skills, interests or relevant work experience. The card might also contain helpful direction on where New Yorkers can find their rights and responsibilities as workers.
WorkNYC cards would be open to all, including those seeking asylum in our city. In order to receive a card, asylum seekers would be required to demonstrate that they have begun the official asylum-seeking process, and if approved, would have the same WorkNYC card as a young New Yorker seeking to enter the workforce for the first time, a veteran or retired resident looking to get back in, or any city resident looking for a job to put food on the table.
Of course, all federal and state laws regarding employment would still apply and there would be legitimate legal concerns around the program. But as everyone continues to finger-point and pontificate, thousands of New Yorkers remain unemployed while labor and business leaders alike clamor for workers. Plus, I think the law is on our side.
During the worst of the COVID pandemic, New York created emergency rules allowing medical students to begin practicing as doctors immediately, even before completing their coursework and obtaining their licenses. This was a recognition of need during an extraordinary crisis, one that we can reasonably apply today.
And New York’s highest court has already held that federal immigration laws do not necessarily preempt the enforcement of state laws, particularly when those laws are in the public’s health and safety interest. Similarly, the federal appeals court has held that undocumented workers are entitled to recover damages under New York law, even though their employment was in violation of federal law. Critically, these precedents have shown circumstances in which local laws can work in tandem with federal immigration law, even with some legal tension.
If you make a hard journey to New York in search of safety and freedom for you and your family, New York welcomes you. We already give people health care in our public hospitals, regardless of documentation status. We should also make it possible for anyone who wants to work to work hard and contribute to the city’s economy. Too many people languish on social assistance when they are ready and willing to achieve independence and become taxpayers. The city needs them, and we should open the doors of opportunity.
The WorkNYC program would lift up all New Yorkers and rev the economic engine of the nation we all call home. With WorkNYC, new workers would expand our tax base, help rebound declining school enrollments, and increase transit ridership, all of which have positive impacts on New York’s bottom line. It would also serve as a point of pride for every New Yorker carrying the card; who doesn’t want to show off that we live and work in the greatest city in the world?
It is time to lead. We have an incredible opportunity to put people to work and rebuild our city. As we’ve done in the past, New York can set the standard for local action in the face of indifference from Washington. And if the feds want to stand in the way, we’ll see them in court.
Myrie represents parts of central Brooklyn in the state Senate.
