There's a labor shortage in the U.S. Why is it so hard for migrants to legally work?

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/26/ [login to see] /theres-a-labor-shortage-in-the-u-s-why-is-it-so-hard-for-migrants-to-legally-wor
At almost any migrant shelter in New York it's easy to see men — sitting on curbs or park benches — waiting. Eddie is one of those people, sitting under a highway overpass, eating a lunch of rice and chicken. He asked that his last name be withheld, because he says he's fleeing violence between armed groups in Colombia.

Eddie wants to apply for asylum but more immediately, he just wants to work. Like so many migrants, he keeps getting asked for work papers. The fact that he doesn't have them, he says, keeps him up at night.