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.
Cheddar speaks with two Congresswomen about what, if anything, will move the needle on gun reform after the Parkland school shooting. In tech news, Apple is reportedly working on new AirPods. Twitter alienated conservatives by accidentally freezing their accounts. Plus, we're joined by Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer who recently became the first American to medal in the men's singles luge event.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) tells Cheddar how the state is coping with the most recent mass shooting in Parkland, FL. She speculates about how this tragedy will influence the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election.
New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney discusses the future of gun reform in the U.S. following the Parkland school shooting. We talk about the students who marched on the Florida State Capitol and how they're changing the conversation around guns.
Kristin Koch, digital director of Seventeen.com, discusses why the Parkland school shooting has remained in the public's consciousness while others have faded. The students who survived the attack have played a huge role in keeping the conversation going.
Apple is reportedly working on new AirPods. Twitter alienated conservatives by accidentally freezing their accounts.
The Florida Congresswoman told Cheddar that the upcoming midterms will send a definitive message on gun reform. She says that, if current legislators can't get laws passed to protect this country, we need to elect people who will.
Even with the President's support of stricter background checks and a ban on bump stocks, the Congresswoman says there are so many other laws on the books that prevent comprehensive gun reform.
House Democrats are calling for Equifax to extend its promise to give customers free credit monitoring from one year to three years. Ariel Evans, CEO of Innosec, joins Cheddar to discuss what this means for the company and the consumer.
The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering with the Presidential election has intensified the pressure put on Facebook, which uncovered about three-thousand Russian-linked ads on its platforms before and after November 2016. Cheddar Senior Reporter, Alex Heath, breaks down the the latest developments.
Uber has a new, cheaper feature. Tesla gets hacked. A polar vortex is bringing record weather across the country. Students across the nation push for gun control, while President Trump holds a listening session with survivors and families of mass shootings. Apple looks to buy cobalt directly from miners.
