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. 

Share:
More In Politics
Kudlow: Tech Stocks Still 'Ain't Bad', Even With Correction
Larry Kudlow, chief economic adviser to the president, told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin the administration remains bullish on the economy ー and he noted that the tech sector in particular was up 50 percent since President Trump's election, "even with this correction."
DoSomething.org Wants to Make Voting Cool Again
Aria Finger, CEO of DoSomething.org, is a Taylor Swift fan, and it has nothing to do with her music. Finger said the pop star's GOTV push is just what is needed to increase voter turnout among young people in November.
Canada's Cannabis Rollout Will Be a 'Patchwork'
With less than 10 days left until recreational marijuana is legal across Canada, Alyson Martin, co-founder of Cannabis Wire, explains how rollout will go. As for the future of legalization in the U.S., she says it's inevitable. "Young people might be the path to legalization," she said.
Utah's Medical Pot Ballot Has Support From Mormon Church
Utah is one of four states with a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot next month. But Republican State Senate President Wayne Niederhauser said so-called Prop 2 probably goes to far and a separate, bipartisan bill to legalize medical use with some restrictions, is a more measured approach.
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley to Resign
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has submitted her resignation to President Trump and will leave her post at the end of 2018. The former South Carolina Governor has long been considered a presidential contender, but in a joint meeting with the president said she would not run in 2020. Haley was a fierce protector of Trump's foreign policy doctrine at the UN since she was confirmed to the post soon after Trump took office. The president said he'd name a replacement in two to three weeks.
A User's Guide to Russian Election Interference
Greg Miller, author of "The Apprentice," told Cheddar that the main objective of his new book was to build a comprehensive look at President Trump's relationship with Vladimir Putin as well as the findings of the special counsel probe.
Load More