Trump administration looks to triple fees for some immigration court filings

Yolanda, a migrant from El Salvador, shows her documents from Migrant Protection Protocols inside of Iglesia Metodista "El Buen Pastor" migrant shelter on June 16, 2019. The folder contains the form I-589, the Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, which she must complete in English to submit at her next court hearing. Many migrants in the MPP program do not have access to immigration attorneys who can help them prepare their cases because they are located in Mexico, and do not have sufficient funds to pay for one. - AFP presents a photo essay of 36 images by photographer Paul Ratje on the ordeal of Yolanda - who asked that we not use her last name - one of thousands of would-be migrants from Central American fleeing violence and seeking asylum in the United States who were told to wait for their court hearing in Mexico. Yolanda came from El Salvador a little bit less than five months ago with her year-old grandson and teenage daughter and they were separated when they crossed the border from Mexico to the US. She now faces the opaque and dysfunctional US immigration system, with a kaleidoscope of legal requirements that even lawyers find hard to navigate, seeking asylum. There are almost 19,000 asylum seekers in Mexican border cities waiting for a US court hearing, according to research based on US and Mexican official figures. At least 5,000 of them are in Ciudad Juarez, El Paso's Mexican sister city. (Photo by Paul Ratje / AFP) (Photo credit should read PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images) (PAUL RATJE)

(CNN) – The Trump administration introduced a proposal that would triple some fees for immigration court filings.

The move would make it more expensive to file certain forms like those to appeal rulings and, as a result, likely pose a challenge to immigrants seeking relief. Increased fees might also deter immigrants from appealing their deportation cases.

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For example, a form to appeal a decision of an immigration judge costs $110. The administration proposes an increase that would make that form $975.

Two forms for those applying for cancellation of removal are also included in the list of proposed fee changes --from $100 to more than $300. In some cases, an individual may be able to apply for a fee waiver, according to the text of the rule.

Last November, the administration also proposed a charge on asylum applications -- the first time the US government has charged for the form -- as well as an 83% fee increase for the naturalization form.

The latest proposed changes come from the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The office, which oversees the nation's immigration courts, determined that an updated assessment of the costs for processing forms and motions, as well as the relevant fees, was necessary, according to the rule.

"The fees have remained static, not accounting for inflation or any other intervening changes in EOIR's processing costs," it reads.

The proposed rule will be published Friday in the Federal Register and will not take effect until after a public comment period and additional changes.


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