This writer admires what President Donald Trump has done to right the illegal immigration wrongs inflicted on this country by the Biden administration and others (Democrat and Republican). But simply deporting illegal immigrants en masse is not enough.
We must discourage abuse of the immigration system, and provisions in the GOP reconciliation bill seek to do that by putting a price on asylum, visas, and sponsorship:
NEW: The House GOP's reconciliation package would DRAMATICALLY reshape immigration via fees, and mostly end asylum for the poor.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 28, 2025
The bill imposes a $1,000 unwaivable fee to apply for asylum, plus $550 every 6 months for work permits and $100 for every year the case drags on.
🧵 https://t.co/IU5sVkj7x4 pic.twitter.com/gMsT7dpqcf
A good start.
The reconciliation package would also charge anyone sponsoring an unaccompanied child out of an ORR shelter $8,500(!), of which $5,000 would be reimbursable if the child was not ordered deported "in absentia" for missing court.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 28, 2025
That's a price that would stop nearly all sponsors. pic.twitter.com/jcIviW5dGi
$5,000 is a lot to risk on someone who would be deported for failing to show up in court.
Defending yourself in immigration court would become FAR more expensive.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 28, 2025
- $100 fee for ANY continuance (except in "exceptional circumstances), including continues to get a lawyer.
- $1,050 fee for ANY waiver application
- $900 fee for all appeals except bond (currently $110)
Democrats love their fees and taxes, but we don't think that love will extend to this stuff.
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The bill also imposes two "fees" which are clearly civil monetary penalties and make no sense when described as a "fee."
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 28, 2025
- $5,000 "fee" for being ordered deported for missing a court hearing.
- $5,000 "fee" for being a migrant who is apprehended between ports of entry. pic.twitter.com/QcOrEMiNEn
They should just call them penalties.
Other new fees would include:
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) April 28, 2025
- $500 for any Special Immigrant Juvenile Status application
- $250 visa bond for ALL nonimmigrant visa applicants
- $550 for any parole work permit
- $1,500 fee for applying to adjust status to get a green card in front of an immigration judge.
That's fine with us.
It is pretty well-established that asylum claims have been abused by people who are seeking economic opportunity, a small fraction of whom actually qualify for asylum. This is obviously an effort to make that difficult or impossible.
— David Gaw (@davidgaw) April 29, 2025
Yes, as it should be.
* 8 U.S. Code § 1158 - Asylum
— Lawyerforlaws (@lawyer4laws) April 29, 2025
(3)Fees
The Attorney General may impose fees for the consideration of an application for asylum
* You may not be a Public Charge
You can't claim asylum due to economic hardship.
It's meant for those facing or fearing persecution.
The Left wants to jam up the process, fair enough. It’ll cost them going forward.
— Farbrook (@CellarDoor747) April 29, 2025
Yep.
They can afford the coyotes and airfares to get them from everywhere else to America, but they can’t afford the fee? pic.twitter.com/oj1N9RJx1Q
— PaintSandRepeat (@SandRepeat) April 29, 2025
A fair point.
Good. No one is entitled to American citizenship. https://t.co/3TsOfHfBTF
— GayPatriot (@GayPatriot) April 29, 2025
Even if the Left thinks they are.
This is brilliant. Kudos to whoever thought of it. https://t.co/GHEw0eLtD3
— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) April 29, 2025
By making the process cost something, it'll discourage people from claiming asylum.
Years of bogus asylum claims that gummed up the immigration system under Biden's open borders policy have consequences. https://t.co/OlhHvHnBNl
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) April 28, 2025
It does.
This is completely unacceptable. I hate what we’re being forced to be 😤
— emersonvzla.bsky.social (@emersonvzla) April 29, 2025
This is not the United States we want. https://t.co/tPzxCGFyOr
Quite the contrary -- a majority of Americans did, in fact, vote for this and this is what we wanted.