Over 100 employees working at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) center in Lincoln are set to lose their jobs, with additional layoffs anticipated. ITC Federal, the contractor employing hundreds at the facility on 850 S St., announced plans to cut approximately 140 positions by the end of January, according to a letter sent to the Nebraska Department of Labor.
Union officials, including Dawn Meyer, president of United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America Local 808, said further layoffs are likely, with the potential closure of contract work at the facility by the end of next year. If that happens, more than 200 additional workers could lose their jobs.
The Lincoln facility is not alone in facing cuts. In Essex Junction, Vermont, nearly half of the 170-person workforce at another USCIS center received layoff notices this week. Meanwhile, the Laguna Niguel, California, center effectively shut down last month after gradual layoffs reduced its workforce of 400.
Jackson Thomas, vice president of the Lincoln union, said it is his understanding that USCIS plans to close the 850 S St. operation entirely by the end of 2025, downsizing to a different location. The layoffs will primarily affect around 350 contract workers, though hundreds of federal employees at both the Lincoln facilities—850 S St. and another in the Highlands—will not be impacted. Some displaced contract workers have already been hired by USCIS to continue similar work as federal employees.
The Lincoln center, once handling a wide range of immigration paperwork, now focuses mainly on processing applications related to the Violence Against Women Act and status changes for immigrants who are victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking.
Union officials said these layoffs stem from USCIS’s long-term plan to reduce contract work and transition to electronic filing and processing. USCIS Director Ur Jaddou previously outlined this initiative in an October letter, describing it as a move toward efficiency and reduced reliance on paper-based operations.
However, Meyer alleges that the layoffs are an attempt to weaken the union after historic wage increases were negotiated last year with ITC Federal. The agreement provided pay raises of at least 25% for two-thirds of union members by the end of 2025, making many contract workers higher-paid than federal employees performing similar tasks. “Basically, they’re not getting cheap labor anymore,” Meyer said.
Despite the job losses, federal employees at the Lincoln location will remain unaffected, and some displaced workers are being rehired in federal roles.
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