For people seeking work or an escape to a better life in the United States, it's going to cost about two times the current amount, following a move by the Trump administration to hike fees on various immigration applications.
Michelle Mendez, director of defending vulnerable programs at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), calls the move an assault on immigration.
"This rule, these fees that have increased will make it extremely difficult for individuals to become legal immigrants, specifically to become naturalized immigrants, to become citizens," Mendez told Cheddar.
The new fees, which are set to be increased in October, will also gravely impact the world's most at-risk populations seeking asylum in the U.S., Mendez added.
"$50 may seem to be a small fee for many of us. We have to understand that asylum seekers leave their countries, they flee their countries with practically nothing," she said.
While news of the increased fees may be looked on as damning, Mendez said the move is on par with the Trump administration's previous moves to eliminate "access to the legal immigration process."
"During the [presidential] campaign, the rhetoric was very much focused on illegal immigration. We knew that that actually meant they were going to attack illegal and legal immigration," she said.
For Mendez, the idea of increasing fees and making the process even more difficult for people who want to become American is a jab at the foundation upon which the country was built.
"When we limit the opportunity for people to be engaged in the process by being citizens, that really undermines our democracy. That really undermines our democratic process," she stated.
The World Health Organization Thursday pointed to a change in reporting, rather than a sudden acceleration of infections. But for many, it strengthened the concern that nobody really knows how widespread the illness is, and there appears to be no good way to figure it out.
The Senate has approved a bipartisan measure limiting President Donald Trump's authority to launch military operations against Iran. The resolution says Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, February 13, 2020.
With two ships at sea, one recently allowed to dock, as quarantines are put in place, the WHO is communicating to countries to change the practice as the cruise industry insists it's able to ramp up its procedures to protect people from the health emergency.
Jessica Jackson, chief advocacy officer at REFORM Alliance, says getting the First Step Act passed in 2019 with the aid of celebrity Kim Kardashian-West, was literally just the initial hurdle in reforming the criminal justice system.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus indicated the body's support has stemmed from the drastic actions China has taken, despite the obvious impact to its citizens and economy.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, February 12, 2020.
The operators of a cruise ship that was barred from docking by four governments announced Wednesday it will finally land and disembark passengers in Cambodia.
Political ad spending will reach $6.89 billion this election cycle according to eMarketer, up 63.3 percent compared to the 2016 elections.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders declared victory in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary late Tuesday, maintaining a slim lead over former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar ended the night with a comfortable third-place finish.
