Trump talks a good game in Miami, but he doesn’t really like its immigrants, either | Editorial
“The Trump administration’s war on immigrants — undocumented, legal and almost-legal — continues. Of course, the implications for many in South Florida are huge — and they are not good.
Last week, the administration threatened to kick international students out of the country if the colleges and universities that they attend do not open for in-person classes — the dangers of the coronavirus be damned.
This would be devastating for several local universities, U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala told the Editorial Board. “They will have go home if the schools are teaching only online. This will be serious for the University of Miami and for FIU and Florida Memorial,” she said.
Universities across the country are looking at hybrid teaching plans to prevent this assault on international students. However, Shalala said, UM, which she used to lead, has just joined the court cases initiated by Harvard and MIT to temporarily block the mean-spirited order.
Contract ends
Last month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with one of the companies that prints documents that immigrants need to get on with their lives legally in this country. That includes work permits and green cards. These people have jumped through all the other bureaucratic hoops, but without those documents, which they must carry with them at all times, the administration has turned them into the “undocumented.”
Speaking about her clients’ predicament, Michelle Ortiz, deputy director for Americans for Immigrant Justice, told the Editorial Board, “You get a notice that your case has been approved, but no documents to prove it.” She added, “You can’t get a job or a Social Security number. Most employers will ask for the work permit or lawful permanent resident card. Employers are afraid, too. They’re used to seeing the documents they’re familiar with.”
Though his predecessor was given the derisive handle, “Deporter-in-Chief,” President Trump, when still a candidate, made his intentions clear to go further, spewing racist hostility to gin up his base. As president, he has followed through.
“We’ve seen processing times of work permits doubled from 2016 to now,” Ortiz said. “It was two-and-a-half months, now it’s over four months.” These delays have become business as usual for USCIS. So while the president was in Miami last week pandering to Venezuelans, he’s really done them no favors. Their asylum claims are stuck in the clogged pipeline, too.
USCIS needs money
Trump administration policies have left USCIS with a funding hole. The agency’s budget is fee-driven, funded mostly by the application and other fees that immigrants pay as they pursue legalization. And even though those fees have gotten more expensive, the agency is up against a massive budget shortfall. Few people are applying for permanent residency and citizenship. They’re scared, they fear deportation while they languish in the sluggish process and, yes, the pandemic, which has brought things to a standstill. The agency estimates that applications will fall off by about 60 percent by September.
USCIS workers are facing furloughs, and while so many other government proceedings have gone virtual, immigration proceedings have not. The agency wants emergency funding from Congress. Shalala says it’s doable when Congress returns to consider the HEROES Act. That’s encouraging, but there should be provision that require expedited timelines and deadlines to speed up USCIS processing. Once again, this administration is punishing the wrong people.