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Here’s How the Shutdown Affects Immigration Services

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Federal agencies that deal with immigration will be impacted by the government shutdown. But that doesn’t mean the government’s business with immigration -- from paperwork processing to immigration arrests -- will stop.

Most of the employees in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, are considered “essential.” So it’s a priority to keep them on the job. Only a small number of workers are considered “non-essential” and subject to furloughs.

Here’s how the shutdown will impact immigration agencies:

Immigration paperwork

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that processes immigration paperwork, will hardly be impacted at all.

Unlike some other government agencies, they’re almost entirely self-funded. The fees they charge cover 95 percent of their budget, according to spokesperson Christopher Bentley.

One of the agency’s services will be powered down, however. E-Verify, a federal program that checks whether employees are authorized to work in the U.S., is federally funded, and will go dark until funding is restored.

Immigration enforcement

The agency that handles immigration enforcement -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- will continue to operate, according to spokesperson Gillian Christensen.

"ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, as well as ICE Homeland Security Investigations will remain operational under a government shutdown because they have been deemed law enforcement necessary for the safety of life and protection of property," she said in a statement.

That doesn’t include spokespeople, though. At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the public affairs office will go dark.

Guarding the border

Like the rest of Homeland Security, most of the employees at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) -- 88 percent -- are viewed as essential. That includes Border Patrol.

Of the 59,561 CBP employees overall, 52,673 are expected to keep coming to work.

Visa and passport processing

The State Department will continue to process visas and consulates will stay open, but their operations may see a slowdown in certain buildings that are affected by the government stoppage, the Washington Post reported.

Just like USCIS, visa application processing with the State Department is funded by fees, so they can continue to stay open as long as they have funds left.

Immigration courts

The majority of immigration courts are still open after the government shutdown, but some cases could be shelved until funding resumes, according to the Washington Post.

Immigration attorneys and advocates told the Post that petitions for political asylum and non-emergency deportation cases could be "delayed for months if the shutdown lasts more than a few days."

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Filed: Country: Monaco
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That's our new congress at work...

0116-Boehner-McConnell-congress.jpg?alia

Is the government shut down again? I don't even notice anymore. I guess it's just become part of life here in Somalia America.

Edited by JohnR!

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Filed: Other Country: Russia
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When the government runs this long using tools like filibustering, obstruction and inaction as the means to an end, they can't expect the threat of shutting down to really mean anything.

QCjgyJZ.jpg

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Filed: Country: Monaco
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The fair thing to do would be to include the our representatives it the same category as those who are expected to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown. I can guarantee you we'd never see a government shutdown again.

When the government runs this long using tools like filibustering, obstruction and inaction as the means to an end, they can't expect the threat of shutting down to really mean anything.

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So really the fuss is over nothing because hardly anything would be affected by the shutdown. Repubs are weak. They should have let the shutdown happen instead of bending to Obama's immigration dictatorship.

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The fair thing to do would be to include the our representatives it the same category as those who are expected to work without pay for the duration of the shutdown. I can guarantee you we'd never see a government shutdown again.

They should be the first to be furloughed. The great thing about that would be that nobody would notice since Congress isn't doing anything anymore anyways. May as well save the money that all that nothing is costing us.

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What a disappointment Boehner has been. The GOP needs to appoint a new SOTH. As it stands his title should be changed to SLOTH.

They should be the first to be furloughed. The great thing about that would be that nobody would notice since Congress isn't doing anything anymore anyways. May as well save the money that all that nothing is costing us.

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As said by Sherriff Bart in Blazing Saddles:

Hold yo ears folks, it's showtime!

blazingsaddles2850.jpg

It’s Not Over: House GOP Pushes Back With Its Own Plan for DHS Just a Day Before a Possible Shutdown
House Republicans late Thursday set in motion a plan to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security for three weeks — Democrats oppose the plan, and as a result, it could lead to a partial DHS shutdown after Friday.
GOP members met at the House Rules Committee late Thursday night to prepare legislation in the form of a one-page document that says DHS funding would be extended until March 19.
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After a lengthy debate, the committee approved a rule that will let House members debate the three-week extension for an hour on Friday, and then pass it.
House Democrats railed against the plan at the committee, but were powerless to stop it. The GOP-led House is expected to pass the extension Friday, although some Republicans will likely vote against it along the way.
But passage doesn’t necessarily keep DHS funded after Friday. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has warned repeatedly that House Republicans have to pass a clean, full-year spending bill, and if they don’t, Senate Democrats won’t agree to consider anything else.
If that’s true, DHS is headed toward a partial shutdown, since House Republicans now seem intent on passing their three-week extension only.
Both chambers are due to return early Friday morning, and pass their respective bills. Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said he believes the House will be done for the day after the vote, and will head home for the weekend.
That would leave the Senate with the choice of either going home as well, or staying to try to pass the House’s extension.
As tough as Reid has sounded, it’s possible Democrats may feel compelled to accept the three-week extension.
Caught in the middle of the fight is DHS itself, which wrote to the House on Thursday to warn that a short-term extension of funding only creates more uncertainty for DHS workers. He’s at least in good company — after a week of back and forth on DHS funding, it’s still unclear how it’ll end on Friday.
Edited by ExExpat
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Obama announced he will sign a three week continuing resolution. You knew this was going to happen. Now if Boehner can just get a few more Republicans to vote for the CR.


Listen to all the liberals squeal: http://www.c-span.org/live/

Edited by I AM NOT THAT GUY
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