Comment Submitted by Anonymous

To Whom It May Concern: I support DHS’s proposed amendment increasing the Form I-246 fee from $155 to $755, and I urge DHS to consider setting it even higher. I would consider setting it as high as $2000. The current fee has not been adjusted since 1989, despite inflation of more than 150% and a far greater enforcement burden today. Illegal immigration now imposes substantially broader economic and administrative costs than it did in 1989, including increased regulatory, screening, fraud-detection, litigation, and enforcement demands on the Agency. As it currently stands, the fee of $150 is far from a deterrent. It's almost a defaulted guarantee to be paid and requested. The current amount of $150 has also allowed charities and non-profit organizations to issue these payments on behalf of illegal immigrants. They are able to do so en masse due to the fee being so accessible. We cannot allow third party organizations to by pass our laws. We need the fee to act as a stark deterrent to prevent organizations from interfering in lawful orders. A stay of deportation or removal is discretionary relief from an otherwise lawful removal order. Deportation is completely preventable by complying with immigration law, and taxpayers should not subsidize avoidable costs created by unlawful presence. Given the high risk of illegal re-entry and recidivism among deported individuals, DHS should recover the full cost of adjudication and related enforcement impacts from applicants rather than the public. If this fee is further increased, we could possibly even put the funds to greater deportation efforts. Respectfully, A concerned citizen