More than 40 mayors and county officials across the United States are reportedly asking President Joe Biden to expedite work permits to grant millions of illegal immigrants jobs.

In a letter to Biden this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and other mayors and county officials asked the federal government to expedite work permits to potentially millions of migrants who have been released into the U.S.

“We, leaders representing local governments around the country are writing to respectfully request that the Department of Homeland Security leverage its authority to grant parole for long-term undocumented immigrants and our most recent arrivals to create a process for streamlined work authorization,” they said.

“Our request is rooted in the belief that extending the dignity of legal authorization to work for our residents born in Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and other countries would be a positive step forward. These individuals have embraced the United States as their home and have, over decades, worked diligently, paid taxes, raised families, started businesses, and bought homes,” the letter continued.

“Both recent arrivals and the long-standing undocumented community are susceptible to dangerous work conditions and exploitation that often result when individuals lack access to work authorization and the protections that come with it. It is our strong recommendation that in the development of this program, worker safety and worker choice is prioritized, and a worker’s legal presence is not solely tied to their employment by a single employer.”

Earlier this month, Adams called for illegal immigrants to be allowed to work as lifeguards as the city faces a shortage, claiming that many are “excellent swimmers.”

Adams was asked at a press conference about a lifeguard shortage in the city as Memorial Day and summer months approach.

“How do we have a large body of people that are in our city, and country, that are excellent swimmers and, at the same time, we need lifeguards — and the only obstacle is that we won’t give them the right to work to become a lifeguard,” he said.

“That just doesn’t make sense.”

“We have all these eligible people waiting to work with the skills we need to fill the jobs but we are unable to allow them to work because bureaucracy is in the way,” he said. “That just does not make sense.”