Some Iowa immigrants say they’re struggling to pay for increased federal immigration application fees put in place by President Donald Trump's budget bill that passed earlier this year.
The nonprofit Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice provides legal services to immigrants. Spokeswoman Elena Casillas-Hoffman said people are scared and want to move towards a more protected legal status.
However, many don’t have the money, as many families live paycheck to paycheck and some application fees have more than doubled.
“Can I pay this and meet my day to day living expenses? But I also need to pay this because I need to feel some level of safety in a moment where I otherwise have so much out of my control,” Casillas-Hoffman said.
—Iowa Public Radio
