Weeks after the Supreme Court let Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals continue, immigrant rights groups are still waiting to hear if the government will take new applicants.
The cost people pay to apply for DACA could pump millions into a fee-reliant agency headed for a financial cliff.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services needs lawmakers to step in, if the agency is to avoid furloughing more than half of its staff next month.
Fees from new DACA applicants could also help fill the coffers. They’d each pay $495. If you multiply it by the number of first-time DACA applicants a few years ago, the result is roughly $36 million for the agency to potentially take in, said Ur Jaddou, director of DHS Watch.
“It’s certainly a chunk of the $1.2 billion they say they need,” she said.
Jaddou used to be chief counsel for Citizenship and Immigration Services. She spoke during a national press call Thursday with immigrant rights advocates.
