Correa, Cárdenas Condemn DHS For Sabotaging Legal Immigration Process With Excessive Fee Increase
Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Lou Correa (CA-46) and Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29) joined by eleven of their colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, expressing their opposition to a new USCIS rule published on August 3, 2020, that drastically increases fees for legal immigrants. Over the past four years, USCIS has increased fees by forty-one percent.
Rep. Lou Correa said, “For the first time in U.S. history, the Department of Homeland Security is imposing application fees on asylum-seekers and eliminating waivers for low-income applicants, while drastically raising the cost of applying for naturalization. It is more imperative than ever that USCIS sticks to its mission statement and administer the lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans. The new rule will have a devastating impact on our immigration system, and must be rescinded.”
Congressman Tony Cárdenas said, “President Trump and his team are continuing their attacks on immigrants and our legal immigration system. Increasing application costs and eliminating fee waivers will make it more difficult for families and children to seek asylum and become American citizens. Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda is antithetical to the foundational principles that make our country great. We must live up to our promise and make America the safe haven and beacon of hope that has guided this world for centuries.”
Read the letter:
August 24, 2020
The Honorable Chad F. Wolf
Acting Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:
We write to express our opposition to the Department of Homeland Security’s final rule titled, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements” published on August 3, 2020.
For the first time in U.S. history, the Department of Homeland Security is imposing application fees on asylum-seekers, eliminating waivers for low-income applicants, and drastically raising the cost of applying for naturalization. We are aware that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is a primarily fee-based agency that is attempting to recover its operational costs, but it is imperative that the Department of Homeland Security generate additional income without harming immigrant applicants who are already struggling especially during a global pandemic.
In line with USCIS’s mission statement of administering the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, it is our request that immigration benefits remain accessible and fair, regardless of an immigrant’s socioeconomic background. It is our concern that the new restrictions on fee waivers will have precisely the opposite effect.
We thank you for your attention to this critical matter and we look forward to your timely response.
Sincerely,
J. Luis Correa
Member of Congress
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