Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are proposing a first-of-its-kind fee for immigrants in the United States applying for asylum. Republicans are bringing it forward as an amendment to the budget reconciliation package they want to pass before Memorial Day.
“President Trump and House Republicans are committed to restoring immigration integrity, enhancing national security, and reining in the out-of-control administrative state,” the committee wrote in a post on X.
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The proposed fees include:
- Asylum: $1,000
- Employment authorization, work permit renewal or extension: $550
- Filing for lawful permanent resident: $1,500
- Immigration parole: $1,000
- Special immigrant juvenile status: $500
- Sponsoring an unaccompanied immigrant child: $3,500 upfront, additional $5,000 that can be reimbursed
- Appeal an immigration judge decision: $900
- Adjustment of immigration status from removal: $1,500
Most of the fees would automatically increase every year using a formula that includes that year’s inflation rate. Read the full 116-page proposal here.
Can immigrants afford it?
Asylum seekers often qualify for public benefits when they first arrive in the United States. However, a 2024 report released by the Department of Health and Human Services found that from 2005 to 2019, asylum seekers in the country had a net positive impact on the economy of $123.8 billion.
Republicans do not need support from Democrats to pass the package. They’re using the budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority in both chambers.
The Judiciary Committee plans to consider this language at a hearing on Wednesday afternoon, April 30.
The fees are part of a larger $60 billion package that judiciary Republicans are introducing for the reconciliation bill. It would pay for nearly 1,000 miles of fencing and barriers along the border, immigration removals and 10,000 new staffers at ICE.
