On August 8, 2019 the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a second opportunity for notice and comment on the new USCIS Tip Form to collect information from the public regarding purported immigration fraud.
The publication of this form signals another dangerous and insidious shift in USCIS’s transformation from an agency serving immigrants and adjudicating their applications into an enforcement agency working in tandem with Trump’s deportation force. Inviting the public to submit unsubstantiated reports of fraud about individual immigrants is a demonstration of deep cynicism about our immigration system and fulfills the Trump Administration’s racist agenda of casting immigrants as suspect and criminal.
We urge you and your organization to submit comments detailing your opposition to this proposed form. The comment period closes September 9, 2019
ASISTA, ILRC and the Arab American Institute have developed a comprehensive fact sheet on the new USCIS Tip Form. In addition, you can use this template comment to speak out against this harmful form. We are grateful to CLINIC and Democracy Forward for their contributions to this template.
Using the template as a starting point, we suggest agencies individualize their comments with their own reasons and experiences why the proposed rule would harm immigrants and their families so that they may be counted as a unique submission. In addition, to the extent possible, your comment submission should be in your own words and based upon your organization’s concerns and interests. The goal is to maximize the number of unique comments to have the greatest impact.
Deadline for submission is September 9, 2019. Comments can be submitted via email to: dhsdeskofficer@omb.eop.gov. All submissions received must include the agency name and OMB Control Number 1615-NEW in the subject line. For example: "Agency-USCIS: OMB Control Number 1615-NEW Comment in Opposition to USCIS Tip Form"
Be sure to also include your name and your agency in the body of the comment. For more information on how to file, click here. Please remember to review and clear any formatting before submission.
Also, CLINIC has developed a tool for individuals to submit comment in opposition to the harmful USCIS Tip Form. For more information, click here.