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Federal employees facing furlough

Thousands of federal employees could soon be out of work due to the impact of COVID-19 within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, requesting emergency funding.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is requesting 1.2 billion in emergency funding to save jobs for nearly 134,000 of its employees

Employees with the USCIS are essential in the immigration process, as immigrants seeking citizenship, visas or asylum in the U.S. must first have their applications reviewed by USCIS.

“Essentially what we do is we keep the door open but well-guarded to our country,” said Gary Thurmond, Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 3928, the union representing federal workers in the Midwest.

The 134,000 employees at risk make up approximately 70% of its workforce. In the Kansas City area more than 2,000 workers received notice of furloughs set to begin August 3rd unless the agency receives more funding.

Congress is expected to vote on this bill in the coming weeks.