This week in immigration news – August 6, 2020

Netflix’s Immigration Nation sheds light on the impact of U.S. immigration policy

Netflix’s six-part documentary examines what Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is like under the Trump administration, and spotlights the stories of immigrants who have been impacted by the administration’s anti-immigrant policies.

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The Trump administration is raising fees for immigrants

As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) faces a significant budget shortfall, they announced they will be raising fees for immigrants. The fee for a citizenship application will be rising from $640 to $1,160, and asylum applications—previously free—will now cost $50 to file.

USCIS derives the majority of its funding from fees paid by immigrants. However, according to a spokesperson for the agency, these increases, set to begin October 2, are unrelated to the agency’s budget problems.

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Undocumented immigrants in Texas are self-evicting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Immigrants who are out of work and behind on rent are choosing to self-evict, even when there is no eviction order. Many do not qualify for pandemic relief, and even if they do, many are also afraid that seeking these options may lead to them being deported.