(The Center Square) — Maine’s leaders are asking the Biden administration to approve a permanent exemption of visas for foreign workers just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, called on the department to automatically extend employment authorization documents for asylum seekers and other immigrants for up to 540 days.
“Employment Authorization Documents are a lifeline. They allow immigrants and asylum seekers to provide for themselves and their loved ones and integrate into their new communities while navigating the adjudication process,” they wrote. “They also provide critical relief to employers.”
But the lawmakers said there is a backlog of more than 900,000 immigrants and asylum seekers waiting for their initial EAD application to be processed, while another 500,000 are seeking renewals.
“These asylum seekers and their families have been subject to a significant backlog causing delays, leaving them unable to work and support their families financially,” they wrote, adding that the move would provide “needed relief workers, employers, and communities.”
The last-ditch request comes as Trump, who takes over the White House in January, is pledging to conduct the “largest mass deportation” in U.S. history. Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, has put Democratic-led states on notice that they must cooperate with immigration crackdowns or face a loss of federal funding.
Maine is heavily reliant on foreign workers for companies looking to hire seasonal farm workers, landscapers, fishermen and other labor amid persistent shortages, with an estimated two jobs available for every job seeker. Employers submitted nearly 97,000 applications for H-2B visa seasonal visas in the previous fiscal year, according to federal data.
“Every willing and able worker makes a difference in our communities, especially in essential but understaffed sectors like healthcare,” the lawmakers wrote.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would release an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2025. That’s on top of the 66,000 visas mandated by Congress.
Maine also relies heavily on agricultural guest workers under the separate H-2A visa program, which has no limit set by Congress.
In 2021, President Joe Biden lifted a ban on the guest-worker visa imposed by the previous Trump administration amid the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
