Thank you, Mr. Bush

Opening the newspaper this morning (the Houston Chronicle, to be exact), I was surprised to see the following:

Despite criticism from immigrant advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers, the Bush administration made final Tuesday a new set of fees that will significantly hike the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

The new fees are as follows:

	Old fee	New Fee
Application to register permanent residence or adjust status (green card)	$325	$930
Application for naturalization	$330	$595
Application for employment authorization	$180	$340

Now, mind you, it costs $110 to renew a green card (they "expire" after 10 years. Technically, once a green card expires, you are still a permanent resident and have not become an illegal immigrant, although the explanation is quite arcane. See Source) Basically, people like me, Johannes (you're still a Swedish national, aren't you?), Pierre Joris, Anselm Hollo or Andrei Codrescu (well, I am not sure about the citizenship status of those two) need not to be concerned.

For all that matters, I didn't really care about getting an American citizenship. I've been eligible for the past two years, but haven't applied because the thing doesn't mean anything to me (it's just a convenient piece of paper). Well, I can add another reason not to apply. It's a bit out of my price range.

Some reactions from our beloved lawmakers:

"We want to reward you for playing by the rules, not punish you with higher fees," presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, a sponsor of the funding bill, said when the fee increases were proposed.

(...)

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the ranking Republican on the immigration subcommittee, said he strongly favored the system of having new citizens and residents pay the costs of processing their applications.

"I applaud those who play by the rules and seek to enter this country legally, but there are administrative costs associated with their applications," he said. "American taxpayers should not be forced to bear these financial costs when, at the end of the day, it is the immigrants who are the ones benefiting from this system."

See the disconnect here? Playing by the rules makes us taxpayers, you dickwad.

Another bothering thing is that the excuse used to explain the fee hike was "in favor of families."

Citizenship and Immigration Services chief Emilio Gonzales said was a change in favor of families, the cost to process a child as a legal resident will be cut to $600 from the proposed $805.

That means a family of two adults and two children will pay $3,060 to become legal residents, compared to $1,100 under the current fees.

So say you are a legal resident, have fallen for an illegal immigrant, had a kid with him before he was deported and now have to live as a single mother while working to help your spouse get a green card? Yes, you've read this story here before, and no, I don't think this person could afford the 900 dollars to have his papers in order.

Anyway, you can read the story here and react the way you want. Meanwhile, I am going to find someone to punch.