Comment Today: Voice Your Opposition to the proposed USCIS Tip Form

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.

At ASISTA, we are concerned about the USCIS Tip Form as it represents another tool for abusers and perpetrators of crime to weaponize the immigration system against survivors, without consequence or repercussion. This is extremely problematic and dangerous, as abusers often use the threat of deportation as a tool to maintain power and control over survivors.

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 proposed USCIS Tip Form. In addition, you can use this updated template comment to speak out against this harmful form. We are grateful to ILRC, CLINIC, and Democracy Forward for their contributions to this template.

Using the template as a starting point, agencies should individualize their comments with their own reasons and experiences why the proposed form would harm immigrant survivors 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 agency’s concerns and interests.  Even if you submitted a comment before, you can comment again raising some of the new issues addressed in this updated template. 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  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 on this important tool, click here.

In solidarity,

Cecelia Friedman Levin
Senior Policy Counsel
ASISTA

Resources:

USCIS Fraud Tip Fact Sheet
Template Comment in Opposition to USCIS Tip Form
CLINIC Comment Tool