GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — According to the latest census data, the United States is home to more than 45 million immigrants. That's more than any other country, but for many, getting here is just the start.
A group of men from Mauritania, a country in northwest Africa that’s more than 5,000 miles away, all say they came to Grand Rapids for the same reason— to escape oppression, search for freedom and live a better life.
“I heard that the USA is the land of freedom because we don’t have freedom there, so I decided to live here and to make my life better,” 26-year-old Ahmeda Ebabe told FOX 17.
“He doesn’t want to go back to his country because he had a lot of bad things happen to him,” a translator added for 40-year-old Sadve Babe.
They are trying to make a living in Grand Rapids but say they can’t because most of them are not authorized to work.
“Very tough. It is very hard for him,” Babe’s translator said.
Babe has been in Grand Rapids for eight months. Since he’s not working, he spends his time taking classes to learn English.
“I spent one month here without doing anything. It is very hard for me. It’s like the same in the jail, doing nothing,” Ebabe added.
Ebabe admitted to FOX 17 that he crossed the border illegally— taking a big risk for the small chance of freedom.
“I want to, to do a lot of things,” he said. “I want to complete my study through their college. I want to work.”
Ebabe says he studied English in his home country and wants to continue his studies in the U.S. so he can teach others who don’t know the language. Plus, he hopes to be a truck driver someday.
“Being able to work here means a lot of, a lot of things, a lot of things because without it, I cannot do anything here. I’m like homeless. I have nothing,” he explained.
Mohammed Baba, on the other hand, was granted authorization to work in the United States just days before FOX 17 connected with him. He says the process took eight months.
“They want to work and pay taxes to the government. They want to work legally, that’s why they come over here,” he said.
Baba is in this country without his wife and daughter. He hopes to get settled before he can reunite with them and live the American Dream with a job, a place to call home and a feeling of security.
Wafa Haddad with Noor’s Heaven of West Michigan Services helps immigrants and refugees in West Michigan.
She says the wait for work authorization, for people who come here legally, can be a long process— she’s even seen it take up to three years.
“The card for employment is the issue…stopping our client from proceeding with their job, paying [for] their food, paying their bills, it’s stopping them from even having a life with comfort,” Haddad explained. “So, what we do, we always communicate with the immigration center, with legal services, with immigration attorneys, to help them expedite that.”
Recently, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition with 19 other attorneys general to urge the Department of Homeland Security to do the following:
- Allow people who have applied for work authorization to work while those applications are pending.
- Address inconsistent lengths of approval and streamline renewal.
- Automatically renew work authorization permits whenever someone's expires or other immigration status is renewed.
- Make work authorization applications with a fee waiver available online to streamline and expedite processes.
In a statement, AG Nessel said, in part: “Immigrants play a vital role in Michigan’s economy, as well as in other states across the country. When those who come to our shores are prohibited from employment due only to the slow pace of bureaucracy in processing work permits, the delays bring hardships for the prospective workers, their families and their states.”
“I support their machine and I agree on what is their intention to help the community to become more stable financially,” Haddad said.
In the meantime, the men we talked with say they keep busy with prayer and staying together— hoping for a chance to make life better for themselves and future generations.
“I just want to have this so that I can live a good life here,” Ebabe said.
Haddad says the best way to help immigrants awaiting work authorization is by donating food, clothing and hygiene products.
