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FACT BRIEF

Did the Biden administration approve three million work permits for asylum seekers?

By Isabella Aldrete
View this fact brief on The Nevada Independent
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YES

More than 12 million work permits have been granted under President Joe Biden’s administration, with just a little more than 2.5 million work permits issued to asylum seekers, who are lawfully applying to immigrate.

The number of work permits granted to undocumented immigrants has steadily increased under Biden. From 2016 to 2020, about 400,000 work permits were annually issued to asylum seekers. Those numbers remained steady during the first half of the Biden administration, but in 2023, that number shot up, with more than a million permits granted to asylum seekers.

Over 700,000 permits have been granted so far this year, with 300,000 applications still pending.

Other large groups seeking work authorization — green card applicants and international students — have not seen a significant increase in work authorization permits issued.

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) claimed the Biden administration “handed out“ 3 million work permits to undocumented immigrants.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Department of State Report to Congress on Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2024
US Citizenship and Immigration Services All USCIS Application and Petition Form Types (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 2)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, Eligibility Category and Filing Type
US Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, Eligibility Category and Filing Type FY 2003-2022
US House of Representatives 8 USC 1158: Asylum
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.