More than 80 House Democrats are calling on the Trump administration to abandon proposed changes needlessly skyrocketing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services fees for applications ranging from green cards to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals renewals, some by amounts that will make already burdensome fees a near impossibility for many low-income immigrants.
Applications to naturalize, for example, will increase 83%, from $640 to $1,170, said faith-based immigrant rights advocacy group CLINIC. DACA recipients—who have to renew their protections every two years or lose the ability to work legally—will see their fees go from $495 to $765, a 55% increase. In one unprecedented proposal, the administration also wants asylum-seekers to pay a $50 fee, which would make the U.S. one of the few countries to charge applicants to seek protection. In their letter, legislators led by Rep. Grace Meng said increases would “undermine fair and equitable access to our immigration system.”
“As currently drafted, the proposal would inevitably price out hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people from obtaining citizenship and other immigration benefits for which they qualify, based solely on their ability to afford these unreasonably high fees,” they said. Of course, that’s also the point of these fee increases: where the administration can’t physically block asylum-seekers or separate families or deport whistleblowers who barely survived a workplace disaster, it hopes changes like this can be enough to wall them off from a future in America.
Of course, the administration has claimed that the proposed increases for USCIS (which is nearly entirely funded by fees) “accounts for increased costs to adjudicate immigration benefit requests, detect and deter immigration fraud, and thoroughly vet applicants, petitioners, and beneficiaries.” But as the legislators note in their letter, the administration has had no issue in the past swindling cash from other government agencies in order to fund his out-of-control mass deportation agents and detention camps.
“We respectfully urge you to withdraw this rule and work with Congress to address any demonstrated funding shortfalls USCIS may have,” the legislators continue. “The American dream should be available to all those who aspire to it, regardless of wealth or income.” The public comment period for this proposed rule is open through December 30—click here today to leave your comment opposing these harmful fee increases.