USCIS Decision to Cancel Furloughs Is Right Decision for Workers, Nation, AFGE Says

USCIS Decision to Cancel Furloughs Is Right Decision for Workers, Nation, AFGE Says

Union thanks workers, members of Congress for leading opposition against unpaid furloughs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today’s announcement by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that will no longer furlough 13,400 employees at the end of the month is welcome news to workers, the American Federation of Government Employees said.

The furlough cancellation – announced in an email to employees from USCIS leadership – came after intense pressure from AFGE members as well as members of Congress. The agency said it was able to cancel the unpaid furloughs as a result of new efficiencies and additional fee revenue. 

After the agency first proposed the furloughs in May, AFGE held numerous congressional meetings on behalf of the 14,500 USCIS employees it represents and hosted a virtual press conference that resulted in numerous articles featuring AFGE leadership and members discussing the negative impact furloughs would have on the United States.

AFGE also launched a national #SAVEUSCIS campaign, which generated more than 55,000 messages to members of Congress from AFGE members, union allies, and concerned citizens.

“This is a major win for the hardworking and essential employees at USCIS. Their work is critical to our democracy, and furloughing these workers would have made it impossible for them to do their jobs on behalf of the country,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said. 

“We are grateful to members of Congress for their bipartisan support of these workers and their mission. While the immediate threat of furloughs has passed, we still need Congress to act to prevent similar funding challenges and ensure that the agency is able to operate without further threats to workers and their jobs,” Kelley said. 

“Since these furloughs were announced, we have worked around the clock to stop them for the sake of our members and our legal immigration system,” said Danielle Spooner, the President of AFGE Council 119, which represents USCIS employees. “It took a village to secure this victory. This was never just about saving jobs; we avoided major blows to our economy, our military, and the sanctity of the immigration processes our country was founded upon. Those are things all Americans can agree on.” 

“Our members can rest easy tonight knowing their jobs are secure through the fiscal year, but our work is not finished,” said Ken Palinkas, Executive Vice President of AFGE Council 119. “We are calling for long-term financial solutions from Congress in order to sustain the agency and increase the efficiency of pending cases and naturalization ceremonies. We will turn our attention to a long-term victory for the sake of our members and the critical work they do everyday to keep our legal immigration system running smoothly.” 

Earlier this month, AFGE Council 119 launched TV and digital ads in the nation’s capital and in key impacted and swing states across the country. The campaign, called Americans Agree, was created to draw attention to these furloughs and what they would mean to the American economy and immigration system.

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About AFGE: 

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia. For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center.

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About AFGE 119: 

The American Federation of Government Employees Council 119 represents more than 14,500 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.

AFGE Council 119 Statement Regarding House Bill Passed to Stop USCIS Furloughs

AFGE Council 119 Statement Regarding House Bill Passed to Stop USCIS Furloughs

Washington, D.C. –– Statement from the AFGE National Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Council 119 on the House’s unanimous passing of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act:

“We applaud the House of Representatives for unanimously passing H.R. 8089, the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act. Though this is not a full solution to the agency’s challenges, it is a bipartisan one. This bill is a great starting point to protect 13,400 workers and keep our legal immigration system up and running.

Though this bill doesn’t provide the $1.2 billion needed to permanently address the crisis, it will act as a short-term solution to save these workers and the agency. The August 30 furlough deadline is less than a week away. With clear support from both sides of the aisle to keep the agency fully operational and prevent the furloughs, we urge the Senate to get back to Washington, D.C. and halt the USCIS furloughs.”

AFGE USCIS Council 119 recently launched a campaign calling on emergency Congressional funding for USCIS, called Americans Agree. A petition from the national AFGE has garnered over 16,500 signatures so far.

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About AFGE USCIS Council 119 

The American Federation of Government Employees USCIS Council 119 represents more than 13,400 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.

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10 Days Until USCIS Furloughs Shutdown Legal Immigration System and Put Thousands in Washington, D.C. Out of Work

10 Days Until USCIS Furloughs Shutdown Legal Immigration System and Put Thousands in Washington, D.C. Out of Work

Local workers and union compare agency furloughs to recent USPS cuts

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Widespread furloughs in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), including an estimated 2,000 employees in Washington, D.C., will effectively shut down legal immigration by the end of the month, warns the union representing these 13,400 workers.

 

According to Senator Leahy (D-VT), USCIS is now projecting a budget surplus – not a shortfall – for the year, with enough money to avoid furloughs, but the agency clarified that it’s still moving forward with the cuts unless Congress approves $1.2 billion of emergency funding. 

 

“I’m proud of the work I do, but for the past three years, our job has grown increasingly complicated, with new regulations and policies seemingly designed to discourage legal immigration to the country,” explains Danielle Spooner, President of the AFGE Council 119, which represents 2,269 employees in Washington, D.C. “These furloughs will be the final blow to our agency and to legal immigration. We’re talking about our mail system getting shut down due to lack of funding for the USPS – well, this is the equivalent for our immigration system.”

 

Outside of the effects this will have on the local workforce and economy of Washington, D.C., the impending furloughs of these 13,400 employees could decimate American businesses, cause our economy to lose billions in revenue, and throw millions of legal immigrants into limbo. AFGE 119 is calling on Congress to fund the agency before the August 30 deadline.

 

“With 70 percent of the staff furloughed, who will process the visas of international students, refugees fleeing war-torn countries, or researchers helping American businesses find cures for COVID-19?” asked Spooner. “These workers have always performed the necessary work that keeps the wheels of the legal immigration system turning, no matter who’s in office or what their party affiliation is. But these furloughs are an unprecedented, clear attempt to dismantle the legal immigration system as we know it, just like the cuts to USPS. We need Congress to act before August 30 – but with the Senate now in recess, it seems their priorities are elsewhere.”

 

In Congress, the bill to fund USCIS, introduced by U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), has received bipartisan support, including coauthor U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).

 

Last month, AFGE Council 119 launched Americans Agree, a campaign to draw attention to these furloughs and what they would mean to the American economy and immigration system. Though immigration is often a hot-button topic on the American political field, a recent Gallup poll showed that 84% of Americans agree that on the whole, legal immigration is a good thing.

 

The USCIS is traditionally self-funded, run almost entirely on the fees paid by legal applicants seeking naturalization and other immigration-related services. Union officials say recent anti-immigration policies, COVID-19, and rising agency costs for initiatives like fraud investigation impacted the agency’s initial budgetary woes.

 

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The American Federation of Government Employees Council 119 represents more than 13,400 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.

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AFGE Council 119 Statement Regarding Senate Recess Before Massive Furloughs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

AFGE Council 119 Statement Regarding Senate Recess Before Massive Furloughs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Washington, D.C. — Statement from the AFGE National Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Council 119 on the Senate’s break for recess without resolving the upcoming furlough of 70% of the agency:

“We are disappointed that the Senate has decided to break for recess without addressing an impending crisis that will devastate 13,400 hard-working USCIS employees, harm American families, businesses, and military service members, and that will effectively shut down our nation’s legal immigration system. While the Senators pat themselves on the back, thousands of their constituents don’t know if they’re going to have a paycheck in two weeks.”

“Both sides of the aisle agree: well-regulated legal immigration helps America. Our businesses, military, and economy will bear the cost of the Senate’s inaction – not to mention our thousands of members and the immigrants who will get stuck in limbo without a well-functioning immigration system. The clock is running out to save USCIS, and it seems like the Senate has thrown away whatever time was left at the expense of our economy, our immigration system, and their constituents.”

AFGE USCIS Council 119 recently launched a campaign calling on emergency Congressional funding for USCIS, called Americans Agree. A petition from the national AFGE has garnered over 15,000 signatures so far.

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About AFGE USCIS Council 119
The American Federation of Government Employees USCIS Council 119 represents more than 13,400 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.

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21 days: Experts warn USCIS furloughs at end of the month will effectively halt the U.S. legal immigration system

Backdoor efforts by Trump administration latest in effort to stop legal immigration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American legal immigration system will grind to a halt at the end of the month if Congress doesn’t approve $1.2 billion in emergency appropriations for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), experts warn.

With 70 percent of USCIS employees slated to be furloughed on August 31, 13,400 fewer employees will be processing immigrants into the country, slowing America’s already backlogged immigration system to a standstill. The union representing these workers allege that this is intentional.

“This isn’t only about the 13,400 American families about to be laid off during a pandemic –this is yet another thinly veiled attack on the legal immigration system by Trump administration officials like Stephen Miller,” said Danielle Spooner, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 119, which represents workers within USCIS. “By failing to fund this agency, the administration has managed to use the global pandemic to effectively shut down all immigration to the U.S. by the end of the month, hurting thousands of American families and businesses in the process.”

White House senior advisor Stephen Miller and others within the Trump administration have repeatedly taken aim at the U.S. legal immigration system, from more overtly political moves like the U.S.-Mexico border wall to the recently rescinded ICE policies barring international students taking online-only classes from the country. According to an analysis from the National Foundation for American Policy, immigration policies under Trump have reduced legal immigration by 49%. The USCIS furloughs appear to be another step to halt immigration.

The USCIS is traditionally self-funded, run entirely on the fees paid by legal applicants seeking naturalization and other immigration-related services. Under the Trump administration, costs have risen due to new hires at the agency focused on investigating potential fraud in immigration applications. 

“I don’t think I can emphasize enough how large an issue this will be – we’re looking at the final days of legal immigration as we know it in the United States,” said Ruark Hotopp, a representative for USCIS workers in Nebraska who has spent years assisting American businesses in his role at USCIS. “International students, scientists coming to America to study COVID-19, asylum seekers, workers recruited by American businesses, refugees – we’re talking about millions of people dealing with an immigration system running at 30 percent of the capacity it usually does. Our economy will lose billions in revenue, American businesses will lose access to the workforce they need, and hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants will be thrown into limbo.”

Originally slated for August 3, the furloughs were pushed back to August 31 after the agency received more funding than expected for summer. AFGE Council 119 recently launched a campaign calling on Congressional funding for USCIS, called Americans Agree. A petition from the national AFGE has garnered over 15,000 signatures so far.

A bill introduced by U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5) would pay back the $1.2B Congressional infusion of funds – allocated over two years – by adding a 10% increase to fees paid by legal applicants until private funding for the USCIS stabilizes. 

Funding for the USCIS has received bipartisan support in Congress, though Democrats have stated they want the funding contingent on reforms at USCIS.

“Unless Congress acts, United States businesses who play by the rules will be devastated by these cuts,” said Nick Walsh, who represents USCIS workers in Pennsylvania. “Before we can talk about reforms, we need to keep the trains moving and keep the agency funded before time runs out – for our economy, our thousands of employees and the millions of immigrants who rely on us.”

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The American Federation of Government Employees Council 119 represents more than 13,400 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.

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Experts warn USCIS furloughs will hurt business, military, economy, and stifle legal immigration

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services experts and employees take to airwaves in national campaign decrying cuts, calling for Congress to act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of a new national ad campaign, experts from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are speaking out about the negative impact that moves by the White House to furlough 13,400 USCIS staff could have on American businesses, the military, the economy, and on legal immigration.

Advertisements calling for bipartisan Congressional action in order to avoid the furloughs will begin airing this week on top-rated cable news and sports networks including CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, MLB Network, and more, both in Washington, D.C.. and in key Democrat and Republican Congressional districts where workers will either face thousands of layoffs on August 3, or where it is believed that “swing votes” on the bill to fund the USCIS may be found.

The ads will also reach voters in multiple states on digital platforms including Facebook and YouTube. The first in a series of those advertisements, entitled Americans Agree: American businesses, our military and our economy depend on legal immigration, can be viewed here or on the Americans Agree website.

“We are taking our advocacy to the next level because we are terrified by the prospect of our military, American businesses, the economy, and legal applicants being further hurt if Congress fails to act,” said Danielle Spooner, who represents workers within USCIS. “This is a crisis that is generating bipartisan attention and offers of support in Congress, but we can’t take anything for granted right now. We see it as our civic duty to raise the alarm about what the consequences will be for the economy, for the military, and for legal immigration if this issue falls through the partisan cracks in our nation’s capital.”

The furloughs would represent an approximately 80% cut to the overall USCIS staff which is responsible for helping businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations legally access the documented workforce they need, while also assisting refugees and asylum seekers to gain legal entry to the United States of America. USCIS experts and staff have received support from both Republicans and Democrats, as well as from the National Association of Immigration Law Judges.

Most immediately, the cuts slated for August 3 will put 13,400 employees onto the unemployment rolls in states such as Pennsylvania and Nebraska overnight. Experts say the job cuts will also stifle legal immigration by effectively shutting down existing legal pathways for naturalization, including for those seeking naturalization through documented military service.

“The ability to earn the opportunity of citizenship through military service to our country is a fundamental tradition and tool that to staff our U.S. armed forces and that incentivizes service,” said Michael Overman, a veteran of the U.S. Navy residing in Nebraska, and a representative of workers at USCIS. “These proposed cuts would destroy that tradition and shut down a key pipeline to service for aspiring military service members.”

“The cuts would put American businesses and the economy in a chokehold,” said Ruark Hotopp, a representative for USCIS workers in Nebraska who has spent years assisting American businesses in his role at USCIS. “Businesses and the military will definitely be the first domestic groups to feel the pain from these cuts, and it’s the wrong time for the government to hurt businesses and our armed forces which are both already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. American businesses, including many who are directly combatting COVID-19 through vital science and research, require legal pathways to achieve documentation and naturalization employees for their enterprise.”

The USCIS is traditionally self-funded, run entirely on the fees paid by legal applicants seeking naturalization and other immigration related services.

Experts within the agency say that the Trump administration has been slow to allow traditional oath-taking ceremonies and other key processes to move forward, draining the agency of the private funding on which it has allowed for years, and making the infusion of funds from Congress necessary.

The plans backed by supporters of legal immigration, the military, American businesses, and asylum seekers would pay back the $1.2B Congressional infusion of funds — allocated over two years — by adding a 10% increase to fees paid by legal applicants until private funding for the USCIS stabilizes.

Some have argued that the current crisis calls for a new long-term approach by which Congress allocates more permanent public funding and also takes more oversight of the agency, but in the short term, experts and advocates say that the funding infusion offered by the USCIS through a bill sponsored by U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri’s 5th District would stave off the immediate threat posed by the furloughs and the debilitating blow it would levy against legal immigration, businesses, and the military: https://cleaver.house.gov/sites/cleaver.house.gov/files/USCIS%20funding%20bill.pdf

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous negative impact on our nation’s economy, it is important that USCIS continue its capacity for administering legal immigration processes,” stated American Federation of Government Employees President, Everett Kelley. Thousands of potentially impacted workers at USCIS are members of AFGE. “Without this supplemental appropriation, this capacity will be profoundly undermined.”

“Unless Congress acts, United States businesses who play by the rules will be devastated by these cuts,” said Nick Walsh, who represents USCIS workers in Pennsylvania. “The outcome will be more businesses trying to bypass the system and hiring in ways that go outside of the legal pathways currently available. If Congress fails to do what’s right, these cuts will penalize the law-abiding businesses that seek to play by the rules.”

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The American Federation of Government Employees Council 119 represents more than 13,400 experts and employees from across the nation who together serve the American public by operating the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which provides services to American businesses, the military, and non-governmental organizations pursuing legal immigration solutions for their workforces, while also supporting refugees and asylum seekers from across the world.