By Michael Bielawski

A bill the State of Vermont to grant professional licenses to illegal immigrants has become law with little to no opposition.

The new law was signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott and takes effect on September 1. Introduced as H. 606, it enables “individuals who meet the requirements for professional licenses to be granted those licenses regardless of their immigration status or lack thereof.” It’s sponsored by Rep. Esme Cole, D-Hartford, and Rep. Leonora Dodge, D-Norwich. The bill’s final text does not list a public cost.

Scott enthusiastically endorsed the bill. He wrote that this “continues our efforts to make Vermont a welcoming state to live, work and raise a family. We have made significant strides in professional licensing reforms over the past few years that make it easier for people to work in Vermont and fill the many jobs we have available. I want to thank the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office for their work on this initiative.”

Must be working towards legal status

In written testimony to lawmakers in early April Jill Martin Diaz, the Executive Director and supervising attorney for the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, gave some insight into how this bill would interact with existing federal law.

Diaz seems to suggest that federal law may allow some work authorization for noncitizens including undocumented immigrants, but that is contingent on the person documenting that they are working towards legitimate legal status.

Diaz writes,  “The Immigration Nationality Act found at Title 8 of the US Code, and its implementing regulations at Title 8 of the CFR, permit noncitizens to apply for and be granted permission to work – also called work authorization or employment authorization – incident to their current or pending immigration status.”

She explains that there is a variety of immigration statuses that allow for eligibility to work including approved temporary student visas, pending family-based green card applications, pending or granted asylum, and more. However, getting into one of these categories for eligibility can have challenges.

She writes, “This means work authorization is not a stand-alone immigration benefit. It must be sought in addition to seeking some overarching temporary or permanent pathway to status, which can cost thousands of dollars in government filing fees and be impossible to pursue without access to quality immigration counsel.”

She added that the federal government is notoriously slow these days in processing various applications due to limited resources.

She further wrote, “Federal law allows individuals to own businesses and practice their trades as solo or group proprietors regardless of immigration history or status, so long as the individual obtains an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A person can obtain an EIN if they base their business in the United States and have a valid Tax ID number, whether it is a work-authorized Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).”

A lot of foreigners coming to Vermont

In testimony submitted to the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs in late February, Ian Hefele, the Community Engagement and Communications Manager for the Ethiopian Community Development Council, told lawmakers that there are many foreign workers on their way to Vermont.

“Southern Vermont is now a permanent refugee resettlement site and we are expecting 150+ refugees from 8 different countries in Brattleboro alone – including a further 75 in Bennington, our sister site.”

Her testimony continues that this will help bolster the workforce in Vermont.

She wrote, “This bill will, if passed, help facilitate links between the host community’s culture and the refugees. It will also develop a place for our new Vermonters to connect with services in their own language. We know that Vermont has a workforce problem, and helping to license our clients will alleviate the wait times in medical offices, schools with proper ELL support, and at the same time provide gainful employment opportunities in the region.”

All of the submitted testimony to the various committees that worked on the bill seem to be generally or enthusiastically supportive of its passage.

Legal immigrants penalized?

The New York Post has written commentary noting that legal immigrants who are also seeking work get pushed further back when illegal immigrants are prioritized.

“Taxpayers may laud the agency’s newfound efficiency, but here’s the problem: While USCIS has whittled down the time it takes to issue work permits to aliens with no right to be here, the agency’s delay in adjudicating applications for legal immigrants has subsequently soared,” they wrote.

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle