Activists call on Biden administration to authorize work permits for undocumented immigrants

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Immigration advocates, elected officials, and migrant workers rallied in Pilsen on Thursday to demand work permits for undocumented immigrants.

Last month, the Biden administration offered Temporary Protected Status to nearly half-a-million Venezuelan migrants in the U.S., approving a longstanding request from cities struggling to house asylum-seekers.

The move allows Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. before the end of July the ability to apply for deportation protections and work permits.

The Biden administration also said it would expedite the review of work permit requests for migrants who enter the U.S. at border ports of entry through a phone app-powered system and a program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with American sponsors. The objective, officials said, is to adjudicate those requests within 30 days, down from the current 90-day average.

Organizers of Thursday's rally called on the Biden administration to give all immigrants the ability to work legally, regardless of their current legal status.

They said undocumented immigrants are forced to be paid under the table, making them vulnerable to being exploited and abused.