A coalition of immigration groups and individuals is suing the Trump administration over its suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries.
The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, argues the policy amounts to a nationality-based ban on legal immigration and rests on an "unsupported and demonstrably false claim" that people from those countries are likely to become public charges if admitted.
The State Department's January directive, effective Jan. 21, indefinitely paused issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 predominantly non-European countries, including Brazil, Russia, Iran, and Somalia, citing concerns about future reliance on public benefits.
Nationals from those countries can still apply and be interviewed, but the agency has stopped final visa issuance pending a reassessment of its "public charge" criteria.
Critics of the policy call it one of the most sweeping restrictions on legal immigration in recent years, arguing it revives and expands aspects of earlier public-charge enforcement by applying them at a country level rather than through individualized assessments, potentially exposing the administration to legal and constitutional challenges.
The plaintiffs claim the State Department, through a series of cables and directives, abandoned the long-standing individualized "public charge" analysis and instead instituted a sweeping, nationality-based refusal policy that:
- Automatically halts immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries.
- Directs consular officers to apply "public charge" determinations rigidly, considering factors such as use of public benefits, medical history, and income in ways plaintiffs say go beyond the statutory test set by Congress.
- Disregards individualized assessments required by the Immigration and Nationality Act, replacing them with categorical denials.
The complaint seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction and a declaration that the policy is unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.
One of the plaintiffs, a Long Island U.S. citizen, said he has been separated from his wife and young daughter after traveling to Guatemala for his wife's visa interview. Cesar Andred Aguirre returned to the U.S., but his wife, Dania Mariela Escobar, was told at the consulate that she would not be allowed to return.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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