Congress is working hard to make life impossible for our immigrant friends.

But we can counteract that!

Until just recently, it was free for asylum applicants to apply for a work permit.

Now it costs $550. How can they afford this fee when they are not permitted to work?

On top of that, renewals of work permits now cost between $745 and $795.

Immigrant rights organizations and some public officials in WA state are working to establish a long-term funding solution to help our immigrant community overcome these unjust obstacles. But that takes time. In the meantime, we will create a bridge until a long-term funding solution is established.

That is the purpose of this GoFundMe: To raise funds to allow our immigrant friends to obtain the work permits that were free in the past. So they can support their families and contribute positively to our economy while pursuing asylum. “Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; give a person a work permit and you feed them for a lifetime.”

The second purpose of this GoFundMe is to address the new $100 fee for filing asylum applications. Filing an asylum application was always free in the past. Immigrants who spent all their resources on their journey to safety, and who must now support themselves in the USA for at least 6 months before becoming eligible for a work permit, are likely to find the $100 fee an insuperable barrier.

Additionally, appeals went from $110 to $1,010; and Special Immigrant Juveniles who have demonstrated that they have been abandoned, abused or neglected by one or both parents need to pay $250 to file for their juvenile visa, when before it was free.

These barriers were purposely created to stop immigrants from seeking asylum and from obtaining work permits. Your generous tax deductible contribution will help defeat that awful purpose for WA state immigrants.

Riverton Park United Methodist Church (RPUMC) runs free legal clinics that prepare asylum and work permit applications for immigrant community members. All the work at these clinics is done by volunteers. The monies contributed to this GoFundMe will go 100% to pay the new fees for asylum applications and work permits. There are no administrative costs to be deducted.

Please give generously and show the power we have to protect our immigrant community from the unrelenting attacks against them.

Want to bypass Go Fund Me fees and donate directly to RPUMC? Send a check (note "for legal fees" in the memo) to RPUMC 3118 S. 140th St. Tukwila, WA 98168."