THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	21
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

condemning the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' fee increase.

     WHEREAS, our Nation's and State's newcomers are making valuable contributions to the social, cultural, and economic life of the United States of America and the State of Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is home to many hardworking, taxpaying, legal permanent residents who are eager to become full Americans by pursuing the dream of U.S. citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, on January 31, 2007, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a proposal that would raise the fees for starting the naturalization process from $400 to $675, an increase of sixty-nine per cent; and

     WHEREAS, the USCIS anticipates that the fee hike will go into effect in June 2007; and

     WHEREAS, naturalization fees have been soaring since 1991, when legal permanent residents paid $90 to apply for U.S. citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, naturalization fee increases result from our Nation's fundamentally flawed system of financing immigration services, which requires the USCIS to rely almost exclusively on application fees to fund the delivery of services to immigrants; and

     WHEREAS, the USCIS believes that it needs this massive fee hike to pay for major infrastructure investments and process enhancements, such as improvements in the timeliness of background checks, modernization of its outdated business systems through technology upgrades, facilities improvements and enhancements in its personnel training and recruitment programs; and

     WHEREAS, there are at least 100,000, legal permanent residents in Hawaii who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, according to data from the 2000 Census, 38.4 per cent of Hawaii's non-citizen households have annual incomes that are less than $25,000; and

     WHEREAS, the proposed fee increase would place a nearly insurmountable barrier in the path of legal permanent residents who seek to naturalize, many of whom have limited financial resources; and

     WHEREAS, this body believes that the system for funding immigration services should be a partnership between newcomers and the federal government where applicants pay a reasonable fee for quality service; and

     WHEREAS, the USCIS' proposed fee increase is contrary to the spirit of our Nation's and State's tradition of welcoming and integrating immigrants, and sends legal permanent residents the wrong message at a time when they are seeking to embrace U.S. citizenship; and

     WHEREAS, naturalization benefits Hawaii by helping to ensure that newcomers become full participants in our Nation's civic life; and

     WHEREAS, the full participation of newcomers enriches and maintains the vitality of our democracy; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that this body condemns the proposed fee increase by USCIS and requests a halt on the fee increase for all naturalization applications; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body calls on the Director of the USCIS to immediately provide President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress with accurate information to ascertain the amount of federal appropriations that would be needed to enable the USCIS to modernize its operations, and enhance its naturalization services, without raising the naturalization fee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body calls on President George W. Bush and the United States Congress to address the fundamental problems in our Nation's system for financing immigration services by providing appropriations to supplement fee revenue to cover costs of major USCIS expenses such as infrastructure investments, process enhancements and capital improvements; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the USCIS, the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate for inclusion in the Congressional Record, and each member of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

USCIS Fee Increase; Condemnation