Trump Administration Propose Policy to Charge Fees to Immigrants Seeking Asylum in the US
Reuters

President Donald Trump and his administration had issued a proposal to increase the application fees charged for U.S. immigrants who want to remain in the United States of America. If passed into law, this will be the first time that US immigration will undergo a significant shift because immigrants will be asked to pay a certain fee to allow them to stay in the United States of America.

This is the recent move of the administration of President Donald Trump to provide a more secure and stricter policy in allowing asylum to the US and limiting the opportunity for US immigrants to acquire US citizenship.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had issued a proposal regarding a significant addition to the fees charged to immigrants who want to acquire US citizenship, renewal of permits for undocumented immigrant youth to prevent deportation, and the victims of criminal acts who want to stay in the US to help with law enforcement.

The proposed fees are:

The amount of these fees is not fixed. It may be higher for some immigrants.

"It's an unprecedented weaponization of government fees," said Doug Rand. He is an official of the Obama White House. He is the co-founder of Boundless to assist immigrants with the immigration system of the United States.

The proposal was scheduled to be included in the Federal Register on Thursday. This will make the United States one of the only 4 countries in the world requiring immigrants, who want to live in the US, to pay the government to work on their applications.

The other three countries that currently charge immigrants for their application for asylum to their country are Australia, Fiji, and Iran.

According to Jessica Bolter, an analyst of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, there is clear reasoning as to the presence of only a few countries employing this rule regarding the charging of asylum-processing fees to immigrants.

"The rationale is that if someone fears being persecuted then no amount of financial hardship should prevent them from being able to seek protection," It's the recognition that it's more important to protect someone from persecution than it is to receive payment for the services you are providing," said Bolter.

After being released in the Federal Register the proposed policy will be under a review period of thirty days where the public will be allowed to express their comments on the suggested policy. The next step to this is the publishing of a finalized version of the policy. After that, it can then be enforced to all citizens and persons under the new law.

"USCIS is required to examine incoming and outgoing expenditures, just like a business, and make adjustments based on that analysis. This proposed adjustment in fees would ensure more applicants cover the true cost of their applications and minimize subsidies from an already over-extended system," said Ken Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli is an expert in US immigration and a candidate to the leadership position in USCIS. He is a supporter of the proposed policy.