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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 69 | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Under the federal Immigration and Nationality | ||||||
3 | Act, 8 USC ยง1182(d)(5), the federal government has the | ||||||
4 | discretionary authority to grant parole, permission to | ||||||
5 | temporarily remain in the United States and apply for | ||||||
6 | employment authorization, to any noncitizen "on a case-by-case | ||||||
7 | basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public | ||||||
8 | benefit," and the US Supreme Court has recognized this | ||||||
9 | authority as recently as its 2022 decision in Biden v. Texas, | ||||||
10 | 597 U.S. __, 142 S. Ct. 2528; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The U.S. government has exercised its parole | ||||||
12 | authority in a wide variety of ways for humanitarian reasons | ||||||
13 | and significant public benefit; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, A program known as Military Parole in Place | ||||||
15 | already exists for spouses, parents, or children, who are | ||||||
16 | undocumented, of active-duty or former active duty members of | ||||||
17 | the U.S. Armed Forces and the Selected Reserve of the Ready | ||||||
18 | Reserve; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, President Biden has utilized parole more than any | ||||||
20 | other U.S. president in history, extending the program to more | ||||||
21 | than 1 million people over the past three years; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Illinois is home to 1.8 million immigrants, | ||||||
2 | comprising 14% of the State's population, the great majority | ||||||
3 | of whom are naturalized citizens or legal permanent residents, | ||||||
4 | according to the Illinois Immigrant Impact Task Force Report; | ||||||
5 | and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Immigration is critical to maintaining Illinois | ||||||
7 | populations levels, compensating for declines in the | ||||||
8 | native-born population; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Immigrants play a key role in the State of | ||||||
10 | Illinois through cultural, economic, and social contributions, | ||||||
11 | and the dignity and humanity of our immigrant communities | ||||||
12 | transcend their substantial role in the labor force; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The U.S. is experiencing an unprecedented labor | ||||||
14 | shortage across multiple sectors of our economy that are vital | ||||||
15 | to our national well-being; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois, the fifth largest | ||||||
17 | economy in the United States, critical industries, such as | ||||||
18 | manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, agriculture, | ||||||
19 | healthcare, childcare, senior/home care, hospitality, | ||||||
20 | construction, and education, are experiencing a prolonged | ||||||
21 | staffing shortage that is harming their growth and | ||||||
22 | competitiveness; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as | ||||||
2 | analyzed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Illinois has, on | ||||||
3 | average, 76 available workers for every 100 jobs; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Employment Security | ||||||
5 | (IDES) reports that the largest number of high-demand, | ||||||
6 | high-wage job openings through 2030 are in occupations that | ||||||
7 | require short-term or moderate-term on-the-job training, | ||||||
8 | including over 56,000 annual openings in the restaurant | ||||||
9 | sector, over 41,000 annual openings for laborers, assemblers, | ||||||
10 | and maintenance workers, over 59,000 annual openings for | ||||||
11 | cashiers and retail sales and customer service | ||||||
12 | representatives, and over 15,000 annual openings in home | ||||||
13 | health and personal care aides; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Farm Bureau has indicated that local | ||||||
15 | worker shortages are among the top current challenges for | ||||||
16 | Illinois farmers, suppliers, and processors, including | ||||||
17 | locating qualified truck drivers to haul grain and sourcing | ||||||
18 | enough hands to pick vegetables or manage livestock, and | ||||||
19 | furthermore, that this shortage in the agricultural supply | ||||||
20 | chains continues to not only undermine the financial health of | ||||||
21 | farms in Illinois but, more importantly, threaten food | ||||||
22 | security, and, ultimately, our national security; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE) | ||||||
2 | 2023 Unfilled Positions Report shows that school districts in | ||||||
3 | Illinois reported more unfilled positions in FY23 than they | ||||||
4 | did in FY22; there continues to be a high demand for | ||||||
5 | paraprofessionals and teachers, particularly in the City of | ||||||
6 | Chicago, the Northeast region, and the East Central region, | ||||||
7 | and the demand for paraprofessionals, who often serve special | ||||||
8 | education and bilingual students, outweighs the supply; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Nursing Workforce Center reports | ||||||
10 | that the State is facing an estimated shortfall of nearly | ||||||
11 | 15,000 nurses by 2025 and a deficit of 6,200 physicians by | ||||||
12 | 2030, fueled in part by pandemic burnout and by providers | ||||||
13 | leaving the profession or retiring, as 52% of the almost | ||||||
14 | 195,000 RNs in Illinois are over the age of 55 with 27% | ||||||
15 | planning to retire in the next five years and less than 8,000 | ||||||
16 | nurses graduating each year; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, The Migration Policy Institute estimates that | ||||||
18 | there are more than 12,000 Illinois residents with | ||||||
19 | international healthcare degrees who are prohibited from | ||||||
20 | providing care due to licensing or worker authorization; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | ||||||
22 | reports that many seniors in the Illinois Community Cares | ||||||
23 | Program (CCP) are already going without the care they should |
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1 | receive due to a severe workforce shortage, and the number of | ||||||
2 | authorized CCP hours not serviced has increased by 46%; much | ||||||
3 | of the increased need for home care is associated with the | ||||||
4 | increasing number of senior Illinoisans, a strong preference | ||||||
5 | for in-home rather than nursing facility services, and a | ||||||
6 | strong preference for culturally competent care; IDES projects | ||||||
7 | that Illinois will need an additional 9,000 home care workers | ||||||
8 | annually for each of the next ten years; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, In the education sector alone, Illinois school | ||||||
10 | districts report a high number of unfilled teaching and | ||||||
11 | paraprofessional positions; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Teachers and paraprofessionals are essential for | ||||||
13 | primary and secondary school students in our State, | ||||||
14 | particularly for special education and bilingual students; and | ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, The existing worker shortage is so great that | ||||||
16 | many school districts have been forced to contract workers | ||||||
17 | directly from abroad, even though long-term immigrants are | ||||||
18 | well-suited to fill these positions; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Despite the State's critical need for labor, | ||||||
20 | nearly half a million Illinoisans who are undocumented are | ||||||
21 | still unable to legally work; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Nearly 30% of Illinoisans who are undocumented | ||||||
2 | have been residing and contributing to the workforce in the | ||||||
3 | U.S. for over 20 years; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, The majority of residents in Illinois who are | ||||||
5 | undocumented reside in mixed status families with U.S. citizen | ||||||
6 | and lawful permanent resident family members; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Long-term immigrant workers in Illinois who are | ||||||
8 | undocumented empower key sectors of the economy, including | ||||||
9 | manufacturing, farming, food production, senior/home care, | ||||||
10 | child care, healthcare, education, construction, hospitality, | ||||||
11 | and warehousing, contributing to our State's prosperity and | ||||||
12 | also contributing approximately $1.5 billion in taxes per | ||||||
13 | year; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Granting work permits will provide a significant | ||||||
15 | public benefit to Illinois' economy by expanding the formal | ||||||
16 | workforce to include all who have the eligibility to work, | ||||||
17 | while increasing taxes paid to the State; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The exclusion from federal benefits leaves | ||||||
19 | long-term immigrant workers who are undocumented and their | ||||||
20 | families vulnerable and forces the State of Illinois to spend | ||||||
21 | our tax dollars to provide critical health care and other | ||||||
22 | benefits; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Illinois provides limited benefits and resources | ||||||
2 | for individuals who are undocumented, including limited | ||||||
3 | healthcare coverage for low-income qualifying immigrants, much | ||||||
4 | of which would be unnecessary if the undocumented had work | ||||||
5 | permits and could secure such benefits through their | ||||||
6 | employment; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Granting work permits would allow workers to earn | ||||||
8 | a fair wage and secure benefits, including health insurance; | ||||||
9 | and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Granting work permits would aid in the | ||||||
11 | enforcement of existing labor laws, thereby reducing the | ||||||
12 | exploitation of our lowest wage workers, the majority of whom | ||||||
13 | are workers of color and immigrants; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Work permits would enable tens of thousands of | ||||||
15 | students in Illinois who are undocumented and without the | ||||||
16 | protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to | ||||||
17 | support themselves and their families, fund their continued | ||||||
18 | education, and contribute to the State and national economies; | ||||||
19 | and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, Despite the protections Illinois has enacted to | ||||||
21 | protect long-term immigrant workers who are undocumented, they |
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1 | continue to be at risk of deportation, family separation, | ||||||
2 | exploitation at work, and exclusion from health care and other | ||||||
3 | benefits due to their immigration status, all of which | ||||||
4 | negatively affects Illinois' economy and public safety and the | ||||||
5 | quality-of-life in our communities; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, For all of these reasons, work permits for | ||||||
7 | long-term immigrant workers would be a significant public | ||||||
8 | benefit to the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Only the federal government can issue work | ||||||
10 | permits to people who are undocumented under its parole | ||||||
11 | authority; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Undocumented immigrants in Illinois and | ||||||
13 | throughout the United States ultimately need permanent | ||||||
14 | solutions, such as updating the federal registry program and | ||||||
15 | other broad legalization legislation, that would enable them | ||||||
16 | to gain permanent lawful status and more fully live with | ||||||
17 | dignity and participate in the economic, civic, and social | ||||||
18 | life of our nation; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, The U.S. Congress and the White House must act | ||||||
20 | urgently to pass such permanent solutions; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, Short of Congressional action, the White House |
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1 | and the Department of Homeland Security must use all available | ||||||
2 | tools to protect and improve the lives of immigrants as | ||||||
3 | members of our community; therefore, be it | ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
5 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
6 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the President of the | ||||||
7 | United States to authorize the DHS Secretary to establish a | ||||||
8 | program to evaluate parole and work authorization on a | ||||||
9 | case-by-case basis for long-term immigrant workers who are | ||||||
10 | undocumented and residing in Illinois to address this State's | ||||||
11 | critical need for labor and to secure the family life for tens | ||||||
12 | of thousands of mixed status families in Illinois and to work | ||||||
13 | with DHS and the US Department of Justice to zealously defend | ||||||
14 | any such program from potential legal challenges; and be it | ||||||
15 | further | ||||||
16 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Governor to work with federal | ||||||
17 | partners to urge, by all possible means, the establishment of | ||||||
18 | such a parole and work authorization program for the long-term | ||||||
19 | immigrant population who are undocumented and residing in | ||||||
20 | Illinois; and be it further | ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
22 | delivered to the Office of the President of the United States | ||||||
23 | and to all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. |