Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy Announces Cancellation Of USCIS Furloughs
WASHINGTON (TUESDAY, August 25, 2020) – After repeatedly pressing the Trump Administration, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Tuesday cancelled its scheduled furlough of more than 13,000 dedicated, public servants. The furlough was set to take effect on August 30.
Leahy said: “It is welcome news that these women and men will be able to continue to assist the thousands of United States Citizens, employers, and students in Vermont and around the country who rely on the work of USCIS and would have been impacted by the loss of services. But the emotional strain placed on these members of our communities who did not know when their next paycheck would come was a completely needless crisis imposed by the Trump Administration. I look forward to continuing to work on a long term solution to ensure the solvency of this vital agency into the future.”
In May, USCIS projected a shortfall in fiscal year 2020 of $571 million. However, revised estimates projected a surplus of more than $230 million, giving USCIS ample funding to end the fiscal year without furloughing any public servants. Leahy repeatedly pressed the administration to delay its scheduled furlough, securing temporary relief in July when the agency pushed furlough back to the end of August.
You can find information on Leahy’s previous efforts to cancel the furlough below:
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