The Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it would offer work permit extensions to newly arrived migrants, even as the vast majority of jobs have gone to immigrants for the past five years.

The new rule from the DHS drastically increases the extension period for certain migrants’ work permit renewal from up to 180 days to up to 540 days.

“Now we learn that the agency intends to increase temporary work permits from 180 days to 540 days,” Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) said in a recent hearing, addressing the new policy. “If anyone wonders why real wages for working families have declined under this administration, look no further than the agency before us today.”

One report from the Center for Immigration Studies indicated that the vast majority of jobs have gone to foreign-born residents since 2019. The study, published in June, explained that data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that 971,000 more natural-born Americans were employed in May of 2024 than were in 2019. For foreign-born residents, however,

“It is true that the country has added millions of jobs since the height of Covid,” the analysis states. “However, most of that employment growth has gone to immigrants, both legal and illegal.”

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas argues that the new rule will benefit the American economy. “Increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents will help eliminate red tape that burdens employers,” Mayorkas stated, also contending that it will “further strengthen our nation’s robust economy.”

“USCIS is committed to reducing unnecessary barriers and burdens in the immigration system to support our nation’s economy,” added Ur M. Jaddou, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. “This final rule will help U.S. employers better retain their workers and help prevent workers with timely-filed EAD renewal applications from experiencing lapses in their employment authorization and employment authorization documentation through no fault of their own.”

Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni notes however that natural-born Americans lost 800,000 jobs in the last year while foreign-born residents gained more than 1 million jobs. “The US labor market is turning into a temp agency for foreign workers,” he wrote.