WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) released the following statements in response to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) decision to cancel its previously announced employee furloughs. In early July, the Senators wrote a letter to USCIS urging the Agency to reconsider the planned furloughs and to eliminate the harmful policies that have undermined its budget, threatened employees’ livelihoods, and hurt U.S. immigration services at large.

“Thankfully, the cloud has been lifted from the thousands of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees who were about to be furloughed in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. These hardworking public servants have continued to support the American people and facilitate our lawful immigration system,” said Senator Cardin. “Public servants and their families can breathe a little easier today, but the policies of the Trump administration continue to cause long-term damage to our immigration system and to our government, as a whole. The Trump administration must end its harmful policies of using federal workers as political pawns or using the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for its derogatory actions.”

 “I’m glad to see USCIS reverse course on its unnecessary furlough plan that threatened the livelihoods of many Marylanders during this already difficult time. As we’ve seen, this Administration – and the leadership currently installed at USCIS – have instituted policies that have undermined their employees’ work and contributed to the budget problems it currently faces. In addition to revoking its furlough plan, USCIS should immediately rescind the harmful policies and practices that have led to its budget shortfalls and instead work to improve its fiscal footing and fulfill its mission,” said Senator Van Hollen.

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