Res 1337-2020

By Council Members Menchaca, Kallos and Cabrera Whereas, On November 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security ('DHS') proposed a rule, entitled "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements," which recommends, among other changes, an 83 percent increase to the citizenship application fee, a 79 percent increase to the permanent legal residence application fee, and a 55 percent increase in the renewal fee for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ('DACA'); and Whereas, The rule would also eliminate certain fee waivers for individuals experiencing financial hardship; and Whereas, Periodic fee schedule adjustments are standard practice for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ('USCIS') to cover its administrative costs and the last fee adjustments were made in 2016; and Whereas, However, the 2019 proposed fee adjustment is unprecedented as it creates new fees for asylum seekers and Temporary Protected Status applicants; and Whereas, Only three other countries in the world charge fees for commensurate humanitarian visas: Iran, Fiji and Australia, and all three offer waivers for extenuating circumstances; and Whereas, New York City is home to 3.2 million immigrants - 660,000 of whom are lawful permanent residents and could be eligible for citizenship - and approximately 15,000 TPS recipients and 30,000 DACA recipients, with an estimated 45,000 more eligible for these benefits; and Whereas, New York City's Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs ('MOIA') has determined that at least 280,000 currently naturalization-eligible New Yorkers fall below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level and as such would qualify for a fee waiver or reduced fee under the current rule; and Whereas, A 2015 Pew Research Center survey of naturalization-eligible individuals found that 19 percent of those who chose not to naturalize cited financial hardship as a significant barrier to seeking U.S. Citizenship; and Whereas, Further analysis by MOIA has identified a relationship between rising USCIS fees and lower rates of naturalization applications over time; and Whereas, This proposed rule will diminish immigrant New Yorkers' access to lawful immigration status by imposing a financial burden; and Whereas, USCIS claims the following cost projections justify the proposed fee increases: (1) a more than $100 million transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement ('ICE') for immigration enforcement, and (2) a 44 percent staffing increase at USCIS; and Whereas, These budgetary and staffing maneuvers appear to be shifting USCIS' ministerial role to that of an enforcement agency; and Whereas, For example, an October 2019 USCIS press release announced increased staffing levels for individuals with "prior military and law enforcement expertise" in their Asylum Division, in addition to deploying USCIS Asylum Division officers alongside U.S. Border Patrol agents in detention facilities and Border Patrol stations; and Whereas, Actions like shrinking eligibility criteria and increasing fees such as those in this proposed rule create an 'invisible' wall that decreases access to lawful status for eligible immigrants; and Whereas, While DHS claims these proposed fee changes will make the process of immigration more equitable, it will necessarily disadvantage vulnerable immigrants who are currently eligible and entitled to immigration status adjustment; and Whereas, The proposed rule will invariably lead to a chilling effect, as individuals choose to abandon their legitimate immigration applications whether due to financial hardship or lack of trust in the objectivity of USCIS; now, therefore, be it Resolved that the Council of the City of New York opposes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's proposed increases to filing fees for immigration status adjustments, including but not limited to, Citizenship, Permanent Legal Residence, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Asylum, and Temporary Protected Status and urges the federal government not to move forward with its adoption. EK 2/26/2020 LS13382