In New York City, there is an immigration crisis looming, but in Kansas City, Missouri, a worker shortage is the challenge. Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City welcomes undocumented immigrants from New York City to come and seek employment in his city.
With a population of 2.2 million people spanning parts of Missouri and Kansas, Kansas City is experiencing a thriving construction and manufacturing sector. Over the past five years, businesses have announced investments totaling $9 billion in the region, with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, set to invest nearly $2 billion combined.
According to Bloomberg News, currently, 70% of construction contractors report not being able to find enough workers, with just the battery factory planned by Panasonic Holdings Corp. requiring 2,000 workers. Therefore, Mayor Lucas stated that the city is in need of a large number of workers, and believes that suitable positions should not be hard to find for immigrants willing and ready to work.
Moreover, the local economy is centered around automotive and food manufacturing, making it particularly suitable for immigrants looking to engage in blue-collar work. Ralph Oropeza, business manager of the Greater Kansas City Building & Construction Trades Council, emphasized that the local labor market is very tight, and as long as immigrants have valid work permits, there are definitely job opportunities available.
Mayor Lucas mentioned that he has been in contact with mayors from New York City and Denver, facing an influx of undocumented immigrants, with hopes of devising strategies to uncover immigrants interested in working in Kansas City.
He stated that concrete policies to attract immigrants will be proposed after Memorial Day. The city has allocated $1 million in its 2024-2025 budget for short-term resettlement, healthcare, and vocational training programs for refugees and immigrants. Topeka, Kansas, located about 60 miles west of Kansas City, is also attempting to attract immigrants to help alleviate local worker shortages.
However, even if undocumented immigrants from New York City are willing to head to Kansas City or other cities, the biggest obstacle still lies in obtaining valid work permits. Currently, federal law stipulates that undocumented immigrants can only obtain work permits after 180 days of applying for asylum. New York City has been urging the federal government to expedite the approval process and shorten the 180-day period.