Read on Twitter
USCIS releases the details of its self-hostaging plan:
"Hey Congress, give us $1.2 billion before Aug 3 or we'll furlough >13,000 federal employees in the middle of an economic crisis. We'll totally pay you back eventually."
Let's have a closer look…
1/ https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/deputy-director-policy-statement-uscis-fiscal-outlook
"Hey Congress, give us $1.2 billion before Aug 3 or we'll furlough >13,000 federal employees in the middle of an economic crisis. We'll totally pay you back eventually."
Let's have a closer look…
1/ https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/deputy-director-policy-statement-uscis-fiscal-outlook
First of all, the Trump administration is trying to blame COVID-19 for this debacle, but in reality they're to blame for saddling USCIS with needless costs & squandering rainy-day money.
@LK_Milliken & I combed through public data & have the receipts.
2/ https://nyujlpp.org/quorum/the-case-of-the-insolvent-federal-agency-a-forensic-analysis-of-public-data-on-u-s-citizenship-immigration-services/
@LK_Milliken & I combed through public data & have the receipts.
2/ https://nyujlpp.org/quorum/the-case-of-the-insolvent-federal-agency-a-forensic-analysis-of-public-data-on-u-s-citizenship-immigration-services/
Hungry for more receipts? See @UrJaddou @AmericasVoice, who did the unenviable work of tallying the impact of *182* Trump administration executive actions affecting @USCIS.
Surprise! The vast majority of these actions made the agency slower & poorer.
3/ https://americasvoice.org/uncategorized/how-the-trump-administrations-failed-immigration-strategy-fueled-by-xenophobic-ideology-created-a-financial-crisis-at-uscis/
Surprise! The vast majority of these actions made the agency slower & poorer.
3/ https://americasvoice.org/uncategorized/how-the-trump-administrations-failed-immigration-strategy-fueled-by-xenophobic-ideology-created-a-financial-crisis-at-uscis/
Until now, USCIS was all alone imploring/threatening Congress. Main DHS & the White House were AWOL.
Appropriations staffers—who pride themselves on being bipartisan & professional—were flummoxed by the lack of a formal request from the administration.
4/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/supplementals-amendments-and-releases/
Appropriations staffers—who pride themselves on being bipartisan & professional—were flummoxed by the lack of a formal request from the administration.
4/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/supplementals-amendments-and-releases/
But now the (Acting) Director of OMB has sent a letter to all the members of Congress with primary authority over USCIS, making the budget request semi-official.
The Trump admin officially wants USCIS to not implode. Now will Rs & Ds come to the table?
5/
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/OMB_letter.pdf
The Trump admin officially wants USCIS to not implode. Now will Rs & Ds come to the table?
5/
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/OMB_letter.pdf
The (Acting) Secretary of DHS sent a similar letter to Congress, touting a "pay-it-forward strategy" by which USCIS will rob Peter (10% surcharge on all users) to pay Paul ($1.2 billion zero-interest loan from taxpayers).
6/
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/DHS_letter.pdf
6/
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/DHS_letter.pdf
But don't worry, says DHS: "This deficit neutral approach will come at no additional cost to the US taxpayer."
That's not really true. Who pays the user fees that USCIS wants to jack up? A subset of US taxpayers—mostly US citizens, soon-to-be citizens, & companies.
7/
That's not really true. Who pays the user fees that USCIS wants to jack up? A subset of US taxpayers—mostly US citizens, soon-to-be citizens, & companies.
7/
"USCIS operations heavily rely on the revenue raised from fees…USCIS operates more like a traditional business rather than a gov't agency…"
What "traditional business" has a 100% monopoly, no incentive to reduce costs or prices, & the power to ruin its customers' lives?
8/
What "traditional business" has a 100% monopoly, no incentive to reduce costs or prices, & the power to ruin its customers' lives?
8/
On top of demanding a 10% user fee surcharge to (some day) pay back the Treasury for the $1.2B it wants from Congress, USCIS is also barreling ahead with a gargantuan fee hike designed to price out would-be citizens, asylees, & DACA beneficiaries.
9/ https://www.boundless.com/research/uscis-fee-hike-immigrants-affected/
9/ https://www.boundless.com/research/uscis-fee-hike-immigrants-affected/
This insanity is all on the politicals.
The civil servants at @USCIS are in a terrible position & certainly don't serve this sword of Damocles hanging over them in the middle of an unemployment crisis.
May Congress act swiftly to save the day & ensure full accountability.
10/10
The civil servants at @USCIS are in a terrible position & certainly don't serve this sword of Damocles hanging over them in the middle of an unemployment crisis.
May Congress act swiftly to save the day & ensure full accountability.
10/10
