The Brief Dr. Emily Williams Knight said an expansion of the current U.S. work permit system could help alleviate workforce shortages in the food industry. Knight said by expanding work programs it helps workers come out of the shadows. The group is calling for the Trump administration to expand the work permit program for immigrants, believing it will stabilize a labor shortage in the food services industry from the farm to the tabletop. Knight: Yeah, we would like to find a deferred action work permit for those that are here. Improving the systemKoski: It seems that having a work permit, that it actually would provide a step towards citizenship.