April 03, 2023

REPS. CORREA, GOLDMAN LEAD CALL FOR INCREASED FUNDING TO TACKLE IMMIGRATION BACKLOG

Letter Supports President Biden’s FY’24 Budget Proposal, Calls For Increase to $400 million For Application Processing, Reduction Of Backlogs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46) and Dan Goldman (NY-10) led 71 of their colleagues in a letter to Appropriations Committee leadership requesting $865 million for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to address the historic immigration backlog, and support our nation’s commitment to process asylum seekers in a safe and orderly manner. 

“[W]e write in support of the President’s proposed FY24 budget and the inclusion of $865 million in discretionary funding to support the mission of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),” wrote the members. “USCIS is facing a significant case backlog and processing times that have sharply increased in recent years. This has resulted in individuals falling out of status, families being separated, victims of crime remaining in abusive or exploitative relationships, and businesses losing needed employees.”

USCIS is fee funded, with 97% of its budget coming from the filing fees it accepts. The Trump Administration obliterated the agency’s rainy-day account, and without money coming in during the early days of the pandemic, USCIS was forced to let go of two-thirds of its employees. 

“The long-term success of USCIS and our immigration system greatly depends on the support and funding that the agency receives in order to address the current lengthy backlog and processing time that have kept visa applicants, asylum seekers, and other migrants in limbo for months or years,” continued the members. “USCIS is mostly funded by immigration fees, and this increased funding would cover staffing costs in addition to general expenses.”

This increased funding would cover staffing costs and general expenses to reduce the immigration application and petition backlogs, as well as support up to 125,000 refugee admissions in FY’24.

Unfortunately, USCIS must adjust its budget based on how much Congress gives them. Which means without support from Congress, fees will continue to go up – as we’ve seen in the news in the past weeks: paperwork for citizenship naturalization, green card, application to work in the US, and more. For example, the cost for an adjustment of status application could increase by as much as 130%.

The letter is being co-led by Reps. Correa and Goldman, and is co-signed by Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Bill Foster (D-IL), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Dina Titus (D-NV), Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (D-GA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Jason Crow (D-CO), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Marie Perez (D-WA), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Nikema Williams (D-GA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Summer Lee (D-PA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Yadira Caraveo (D-CO), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO), Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (D-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), André Carson (D-IN), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Alma Adams (D-NC), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Bill Keating (D-MA), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Frank Pallone Jr (D-NJ), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Robert Garcia (D-CA), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Mikkie Sherrill (D-NJ), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), and Jim Costa (D-CA). 

The full text of the letter can be found HERE.

This effort has also been endorsed by several immigrant rights organizations nationwide, including: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), NALEO Educational Fund, National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), Her Justice, ASISTA Immigration Assistance, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), Human Rights First, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Coalition on Human Needs, and the Tahirih Justice Center.

###