Trump Administration Sued over Pause on Immigrant Visa Processing
A group of civil rights organizations on Monday sued the State Department over its recent halt in processing immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, arguing that the policy “eviscerates decades of established immigration law.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, asks a judge to issue a court order blocking the policy, which went into effect Jan. 21. The complaint alleged that the State Department’s policy was “based on an unsupported and patently false assertion that citizens of covered countries are improperly immigrating to the United States to rely on cash welfare and are likely to become ‘public charges.'”
“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement, adding that the visa policy prevents billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse.
“The Department is pausing issuance to evaluate and improve its screening and investigative procedures – but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first,” Mr. Pigott said.
The lawsuit was filed by the National Immigration Law Center and other groups on behalf of several plaintiffs, including U.S. citizens who say they were separated from family members because of the policy.
Another plaintiff is a Colombian endocrinologist who was approved for an employment-based visa, but was unable to obtain this visa because Colombia is one of the countries subject to this policy.
The pause affected applications from Latin American countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, and many countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
The State Department policy does not affect U.S. visitor visas, which are in the spotlight given that the U.S. will host the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
A State Department cable outlining the move and seen by Reuters said the Department was undertaking a “full review” of all policies, regulations and guidance to ensure the “highest level of screening and review” for all U.S. visa applicants.
The cable sent to U.S. missions stated that applicants from 75 affected countries “are at high risk of becoming a public indictment and resorting to local, state, and federal government resources in the United States.”
