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 potential new train service is part of a long-term plan to vastly expand the types of travel – and range of ticket prices – that the state and federally funded, privately run passenger rail company provides.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, November 8, 2019.
In the plan called "A Welcoming and Safe America for All," Sanders said he will use executive action if Congress does not enact the "commonsense immigration reforms supported by the vast majority of Americans."
The Family Friendly Schools Act introduced by Sen. Harris (D-Calif.) would create a pilot program to provide schools the resources needed to stay open until 6 p.m. and provide additional care on many days that schools are otherwise closed.
The ordinance, which passed with roughly 70 percent of votes, puts limitations on the number of short-term rental units in residential buildings and mandates safety inspections and an array of other compliance measures.
While estimates vary, the IPO is expected to value Saudi Aramco at roughly $1.5 trillion, making it the most profitable company in the world. Shares are expected to begin trading on the Tadawul, the stock exchange in Riyadh, in the coming months.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, November 4, 2019.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
In its monthly jobs report released Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also reported that unemployment last month remained largely unchanged at 3.6 percent or 5.9 million people.
The leaders of both nations were set to ink the so-called "phase one" trade agreement at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile next month. However, the summit was canceled due to civil unrest in Santiago, Chile's capital.
