The following letter dated on May 13 was signed by 38 United States senators from both sides of the aisle. It was written in response to a call from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) to hold the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency accountable for delays in processing requests.
As AILA stated on May 8, “Dramatic changes in USCIS policy under the Trump administration have undermined the legal immigration system that the agency was created to facilitate. This webpage provides key updates, analysis, media coverage, and other resources that bring the nature and destructive impacts of these changes into relief. The page also highlights how members and the public can join AILA in holding USCIS accountable for failing its statutory mission—a failure causing hardship to families, vulnerable populations, and U.S. businesses around the country. Through this accountability initiative, AILA strives for a service-oriented, fair, and efficient USCIS—the one that Congress envisioned and the public deserves.”
This is the bispartisan Senate letter AILA posted as a result of its call to action:
Overall, 19 Republicans signed the letter, along with 19 Democrats. Notable Republican senators who signed were Lindsay Graham, John Cornyn and Susan Collins. On the Democratic side, presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar signed the letter.
An AILA video posted last week talks about why the organization believes USCIS under the Trump administration is not doing its work, announcing that it is providing tools for laywers and clients to report examples of USCIS’ delays in processing.
