WASHINGTON, DC (TIP): Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), on May 9, joined forces with the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and Families United (AFU) and, in one unified voice, called on President Biden to issue executive orders to help bring order to the border and to help expand the issuance of work permits for families with mixed immigration status.

“Today we are delivering a bipartisan message to President Biden to enact executive orders to bring ‘order to the border’ and expand work permits for families with mixed immigration status,” said Suozzi. “Americans want action. Congress has failed to act and we now need the President! Organized crime “coyotes” are scamming the asylum system enacted in 1980 that was designed to help Cold War defectors. Additionally, 1.1 million undocumented people living here for decades and married to US citizens need a work permit to allow them to pay taxes and come out from the shadows.”

“Only bipartisan commonsense solutions will fix what’s broken, concluded Suozzi.”

“We need a smart and sensible immigration system to support families and protect the border,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick. “I am proud to partner with Rep. Suozzi on this bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to take executive action on sensible immigration reforms to begin fixing our country’s broken immigration process.”

Suozzi and Fitzpatrick sent a letter to the White House this morning asking the President to use his Executive Authority to “help bring order to the border and extend legal work permits to populations of the long-term undocumented who have shown significant roots in our nation and a history of economic contributions.”

Suozzi and Fitzpatrick were joined at the press conference by Rebecca Shi, Executive Director, ABIC; Al Cardenas, Co-Chair, ABIC; Andrew Tisch, Board Member, ABIC and Co-Chair, Loews Corporation; and Stephanie Medellin, Board Member, AFU.

“Common-sense solutions like work permits for spouses of US citizens and mixed status families is economically crucial,” said Rebecca Shi, Executive Director of ABIC. “Polls show that American voters support legal work permits for long term residents already established deep roots in our nation. We are deeply grateful to Representatives Tom Suozzi and Brian Fitzpatrick for leading on common-sense solutions for these U.S. citizen spouses that everyday Americans want, and we urge President Biden to protect American families.”

Additionally, the Suozzi/Fitzpatrick letter urged the President to consider issuing “an executive order to help bring order to the border by 1) restricting the abuse of the asylum process by cartels guiding migrants between ports of entry, and 2) raising the credible fear standard to a higher threshold.”

The bipartisan pair of lawmakers closed the letter by writing, “We support efforts to bring order to the border and fairness for long-term contributors. Our nation needs solutions, and an overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens will support meaningful steps taken in this direction.”