LOS ANGELES — A precipitous drop in applications for green cards, citizenship and other programs has threatened the solvency of the federal agency that administers the country’s lawful immigration sys
tem, prompting it to seek a $1.2 billion cash infusion from Congress as well as fee hikes to stay afloat.
Critics blamed the Trump administration’s stringent policies — which have caused backlogs, red tape and application denials to skyrocket — for dissuading an untold number of people from applying for visas and other immigration benefits. Last summer, Cuccinelli announced a “public charge” rule that denied immigrants green cards if they were deemed likely to use government benefit programs like food stamps and subsidized housing, a move that is believed to have deterred many people from applying. The reason: Applying for legal permanent residency in itself could be considered a negative factor by immigration officers when determining whether a person could become a public charge.
In fiscal year 2016, the agency had 15,828 positions, including full-time and contract workers. Three years later, that number had climbed to almost 18,866, a 19% increase. The agency already had been trying to limit spending to paying salaries and critical expenses to avert a financial crisis, he said, and would have to take further “drastic actions,” which he did not specify, to keep operating. Those could include staff reductions that would affect the adjudication of citizenship, green cards, asylum and work visas.
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