The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a new $1,000 immigration fee Thursday for migrants paroled in the United States.
The goal of the fee is to “institute accountability and prevent rampant fraud of the parole system,” according to a statement from the department’s public affairs office. The fee would also improve oversight of the immigration parole system “and deter its misuse.”
“The Biden Administration abused America’s immigration system and turned parole into a de facto amnesty program, thereby allowing millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the U.S., no questions asked, to the detriment of all Americans,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.
“Through the implementation of this new fee, President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are guaranteeing that foreign nationals, who wish to stay here, have skin in the game and do not exploit the system,” McLaughlin continued. “This immigration parole fee notice is another tool to stop the degradation of our immigration system and restore law and order to our country.”
Fees will be collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fees are triggered once the grant is approved, not once a parole request is filed, the statement read.
The change comes as Trump has sent the National Guard to parts of the country to handle crime in some cities or help protect ICE officers while they conduct their own operations.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to approve an emergency declaration in response to the Trump administration’s immigration raids.
“We have residents afraid to leave their homes, we have constituents contacting my office because their family members never came home and they don’t know if they’ve been taken by ICE or where they’ve been taken,” County Supervisor Janice Hahn said, according to The Associated Press.
Also on Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration for trying to raise the fee for H-1B visa applications to $100,000. The chamber called the proclamation to raise the price “not only misguided policy; it is plainly unlawful,” according to the lawsuit. Trump signed the proclamation last month with the intention of having companies hire American workers instead of migrant labor.
The lawsuit also stated that Trump’s proclamation could not contradict Congress.
