Democratic mayors of five of the biggest cities in the US demand meeting with Biden to deal with the migrant crisis: Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York say White House has given them no help with the surge in arrivals

The Democratic mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York say they are ready to travel to meet President Joe Biden next week as they push for $5 billion in funding to stem the tide of migrants arriving in their cities will have to cope with.

In a letter released Wednesday, they say they are having to get by with little help from his government.

The urgency is so great that they propose to travel to Washington DC for a crisis meeting within a few days.

Meanwhile, migrants sleep in the foyers of police stations in Chicago. In New York, a cruise ship terminal was converted into a shelter.

In Denver, the number of migrants arriving has increased tenfold and the space available to keep them safe has decreased.

With fewer available work permits, these migrants cannot find work that would allow them to obtain good housing.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who leads the coalition, told the Associated Press that almost every conversation he has had with arriving migrants is the same: Can he help them find a job?

‘The crisis is that we have people here who really want to work. And we have employers here who are desperate to hire them. And we have a federal government that stands in the way of employers who want to hire workers who want to work,” Johnston said.

The mayors of the country’s four largest cities also signed up: Eric Adams of New York, Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Sylvester Turner of Houston.

The situation at the US-Mexico border has irritated the Democratic president, who is seeking re-election in 2024.

He is increasingly under fire from members of his own party who are trying to control the growing number of migrants in their cities. Republicans argue that Biden is weak on border security and is allowing too many people to enter the United States.

He has responded by tightening border rules aimed at curbing illegal border crossings, and by offering work permits and other incentives to those who come to the U.S. legally — by registering in advance and flying in to come.

Emilie Simons, White House deputy press secretary, said: “We are committed to supporting local jurisdictions hosting migrants who have recently arrived in the country. We will continue to provide support in any way we can.”

The reason for the rising number of migrants in these cities is complicated, but economic and climate-related hardships in their home countries are key drivers. More and more families are arriving and applying for asylum.

Some conservative-leaning states have sent migrants to so-called sanctuary cities such as New York or Chicago, where laws are more favorable to non-residents. But that alone doesn’t explain why cities are seeing such increases.

In recent years, when migrants arrived, they were released and picked up by nonprofits before usually going to stay with a relative in the US. But the nationalities of the people who arrived have changed and many no longer have anywhere to go.

Obtaining asylum is a long and difficult process through a severely congested immigration court system. In some cases, migrants can wait up to ten years for a trial. They are released into the US to wait. Some are eligible to work, but such permits are severely delayed.

There are also concerns that allowing too many work permits will encourage more people to make the dangerous journey to the US on foot. So thousands are left in limbo, unable to work and sleep in shelters or government facilities.

Biden has asked Congress for $1.4 billion to help state and local governments provide shelter and services to migrants, following earlier pleas from Democratic mayors and governors.

Johnston and the other mayors say in their letter that more is needed and are asking for $5 billion.

“While we greatly appreciate the proposed additional federal funding, our city budgets and local taxpayers continue to bear the brunt of this ongoing federal crisis,” the letter said. “Cities have historically successfully absorbed and integrated new migrants.”

Denver spends $2 million a week on sheltering migrants. New York has exceeded a total of $1.7 billion and Chicago has spent $320 million, according to the letter.

“Our cities need additional resources far greater than the proposed amount to properly care for the asylum seekers entering our communities,” the mayor’s letter said. “Depending on municipal budgets is not sustainable and has forced us to cut back on essential city services.”

The mayors also want an accelerated approval process for work permits so that migrants can find work.

“We are extremely grateful for the work the Biden-Harris administration has done in expanding work authorization and providing funding for this mission, but we must go a step further to ensure we keep up with the moment meet and continue to provide care to newcomers’, Johnston’s office said in a statement.

The cities are full of people who have signed up, but there are delays of six months or more.

The mayors are also pushing to expand the powers so that anyone released into the U.S. would be eligible to find work while they wait for their immigration cases to be finalized.

Finally, they ask the government to appoint a regional migration coordinator who would work with the federal government, nonprofits, and state and local officials. The aim is to better coordinate migrants and place them in areas where there is capacity for them.

It is unclear whether Congress, including the Republican-controlled House, will approve the funding Biden has requested, let alone an increase in local aid.

“We think there’s a real common sense path here and that’s why we thought it was important,” Johnston said.