Shaheen Raises Awareness to Local USCIS Furloughs and Calls for Funding to Keep Employees on the Job

SHAHEEN: “The 21 employees at the USCIS Manchester Field Office, along with the dozens of other New Hampshire residents who work at other Field Office locations, are among the more than 13,000 USCIS employees who, in addition to thousands of contracted workers, stand to lose their income if Congress does not step in.”

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) called on Senate leadership to make sure employees of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) are paid by addressing a funding shortfall at the agency and avoiding a furlough of agency staff anticipated for August. Senator Shaheen called for this funding shortfall to be addressed in future COVID-19 relief legislation. The USCIS is typically funded almost entirely through fee collection. The Trump administration’s policy and management decisions, coupled with a reduction in visa applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to severe funding shortfalls at the agency that will result in missed paychecks for Granite Staters employed by USCIS.

Shaheen expressed concern about the agency furloughing New Hampshire workers in response to financial difficulties, writing, “In addition to the enormous processing backlog such furloughs would cause, I have heard from USCIS employees in New Hampshire with significant concerns about the impact these pending furloughs would have on American workers in the Granite State… The 21 employees at the USCIS Manchester Field Office, along with the dozens of other New Hampshire residents who work at other Field Office locations, are among the more than 13,000 USCIS employees who, in addition to thousands of contracted workers, stand to lose their income if Congress does not step in.”

Shaheen continued, “It is essential that funding appropriated to USCIS in future COVID-19 relief legislation be designated specifically and exclusively to preserve the agency’s critical immigration services... Congress should act now to ensure that USCIS employees can continue to perform their critical work and that our nation’s legal immigration system continues to function.”

The full text of the letter is available here or below:

 

Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:  

I write to express concern regarding the financial state of U.S. Immigration Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and to urge you to include funding for the agency in future COVID-19 relief legislation. 

As you know, USCIS is typically funded almost entirely through fee collection, rather than Congressional appropriations. Unfortunately, the policy and management decisions of this Administration, combined with a reduction in application receipts collected by USCIS during the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to the current severe funding shortfall at the agency. To make matters worse, President Trump announced an Executive Order on June 22 that suspends the processing of certain H-1B, H-2B, J and L visas. The decision to block these critical work visas will not only harm American businesses but will also further limit the fees collected by USCIS.  

Now, USCIS has announced that the agency will be furloughing workers in August 2020 if it does not receive new funding from Congress. In addition to the enormous processing backlog such furloughs would cause, I have heard from USCIS employees in New Hampshire with significant concerns about the impact these pending furloughs would have on American workers in the Granite State. The workers who would be hardest hit by the loss of their paycheck are those currently working as Immigration Service Assistants or Operation Support Specialists, some of whom have relocated to New Hampshire to pursue a career with USCIS and many of whom, along with their families, will be financially devastated without a steady income. The 21 employees at the USCIS Manchester Field Office, along with the dozens of other New Hampshire residents who work at other Field Office locations, are among the more than 13,000 USCIS employees who, in addition to thousands of contracted workers, stand to lose their income if Congress does not step in. 

It is essential that funding appropriated to USCIS in future COVID-19 relief legislation be designated specifically and exclusively to preserve the agency’s critical immigration services. Such appropriations must be accompanied by strict language preventing the transfer of this USCIS funding towards enforcement functions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

I urge you to ensure that this needed funding, along with legislative language clarifying its usage for immigration services only, is provided for the agency as soon as possible. Congress should act now to ensure that USCIS employees can continue to perform their critical work and that our nation’s legal immigration system continues to function.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,