A group of United States citizens petitioning on behalf of their immigrant family members,
together with working people facing exclusion from the U.S. and nonprofit organizations, including The Legal Aid Society, filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s sweeping suspension of immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries.

The complaint argues that the U.S Department of State has imposed an unlawful, nationality-based ban on legal immigration that strips families and working people of the process guaranteed by law. The Trump administration baselessly cited “public charge” risk as its stated justification for the categorical ban.

There are multiple plaintiffs in this lawsuit, including a Legal Aid client who is an 80-year-old U.S. citizen who started the immigrant visa petitioning process for four of her adult sons and daughters almost a decade ago, only to see them and their families denied last week, solely on the basis of the unlawful 75-country ban. Their fate, as well as the fates of five additional sons and daughters who are still completing the process, are now in limbo.

“The State Department cannot rewrite immigration law to advance a discriminatory agenda,” said Hasan Shafiqullah, Supervising attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at Legal Aid. “By imposing a sweeping, nationality-based visa ban under the pretext of ‘public charge,’ the government is flouting Congressional will, ignoring long-standing legal standards, and targeting communities of color.”

“This policy is arbitrary, unlawful, and deeply harmful to families who have followed the rules and are simply seeking to reunite with their loved ones,” he continued. “We are going to court to stop this executive overreach and ensure the administration follows the law.”