The letter, first obtained by Politico, said such migrants are “stuck in limbo” without the ability to obtain work authorizations despite “want[ing] to work and give back to their new communities.”

Asylum seekers, the lawmakers wrote, “should be permitted to apply to obtain work authorization from the moment that they file their asylum claim.” Instead, under current regulations, they must wait up to six months after submitting asylum applications before work authorizations can be issued.

“As a result, asylum seekers are forced to rely on underfunded community groups to provide them with everything from housing to food to health services,” they wrote. “This is particularly troubling given the tight labor market we are experiencing across the country.”

The Democrats urged the Biden administration to “ease the undue delays” by adopting a series of available measures, such as the increased use of “humanitarian parole” and “provisional waivers” and decreasing the regulatory 150-day wait period for asylum seekers to apply for work authorization.

The plea comes at a time when the House Republican majority is seeking to clamp down on undocumented migrants and asylum seekers rather than easing their transition into the United States.

Conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus last month threatened to force a government shutdown unless the measures contained in the “Secure the Border Act of 2023” are enacted as part of any stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government functioning amid the debate on appropriations measures.

Among its other provisions, the legislation would restart construction of former President Donald Trump‘s border wall and slap new restrictions on asylum seekers.