By Katerina Hatzi

Trump’s recent “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)” will negatively impact refugees and migrants, according to leading US immigration and refugee service Global Refuge.

The bill, signed on July 4, dramatically increases “federal spending on detention, deportation, border barriers, and other immigration-related measures.”

Global Refuge joined other advocates to “fight back” against such proposed measures, as they are going to have particularly negative impact on those affected. The bill itself holds the “longest vote” in the history of the House of Representatives and went through a “tense” process, Global Refuge reports.

Lawfully present refugees and asylees will be excluded from “key support programs” before they obtain green card status.

This includes programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food stamps, Medicaid, and Medicare.

OBBBA will also bring into effect an increase in “many immigration fees.”

According to Global Refuge, there will be $100 fees to apply for asylum protections, an application fee of $250 for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, an increased application fee for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a higher cost ($550) for applying for an initial work permit, as well as a fee of $275 for each renewal or extension of employment authorization for asylum applicants, parole, and TPS.

Such changes will result in destabilisation of immigrant communities, put a halt to access to necessities and make access to things like healthcare very restrictive.

In a press statement, Global Refuge CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah said: “This bill…devotes unprecedented resources towards a sprawling human incarceration machine, while stripping support from those who followed legal processes to seek safety through proper channels. Nothing could be more at odds with the balanced approach Americans overwhelmingly favour as it relates to border security and legal immigration pathways.”

Immigration advocates have not been successful in modifying many parts of the bill, but there might still be hope.

Global Refuge said that, through pressure from advocacy groups, the “proposed asylum application fee decreased from $1,000 to $100”, and an ‘astronomical fee’ for sponsors of “unaccompanied children” was removed.

Immigration and refuge services such as Global Refuge say that the fight is still not over.

Global Refuge in particular will continue advocating and educating communities and members of Congress about the impact such changes will have on vulnerable groups and how those in power must work to “restore access” to basic assistance for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.