A coalition of immigration advocates, lawyers and US citizens has filed a lawsuit against the US state department and secretary of state Marco Rubio, seeking to overturn an order that halted immigrant visa approvals for nationals of 75 countries. The plaintiffs argue the policy dismantles decades of established immigration practice and amounts to unlawful discrimination based on nationality.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in New York, accuses the state department and Rubio of unlawfully denying immigration benefits by relying on what it calls a “demonstrably false” assertion that migrants from the targeted countries are likely to depend on US welfare programs.
Last month, the state department announced the suspension of immigrant visa processing in a social media post that drew criticism for its unusually blunt tone. The department said it would “pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates,” adding that the freeze would remain in place until the US could ensure that new immigrants would not “extract wealth from the American people”.
The post said the decision affected dozens of countries, including Somalia, Haiti, Iran and Eritrea, claiming that migrants from those nations frequently became “public charges” after arriving in the US. It concluded by saying the department was working to ensure that “the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused”.
Among the countries included in the suspension was Cuba, the country from which Rubio’s parents emigrated as undocumented migrants in 1956.
An accompanying statement on the state department’s website said the policy reflected President Donald Trump’s view that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient. It said the department was conducting a comprehensive review of its policies and regulations to ensure that immigrants from what it described as “high-risk countries” do not rely on welfare or become a public charge.
The visa suspension coincided with the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minnesota, where the Trump administration has alleged widespread welfare fraud and has accused members of the local Somali community of playing a central role.
According to the lawsuit, the suspension effectively blocks nearly half of all immigrant visa applications worldwide.
The plaintiffs argue that the “public charge” rationale is unsupported and inaccurate, saying it falsely portrays nationals from the affected countries as migrating to the US to improperly rely on cash assistance.
“Many applicants for immigrant visas are not eligible for cash welfare and remain ineligible for years,” the suit states.
It further alleges that the state department has created a visa processing system that has no basis in the Immigration and Nationality Act or its implementing regulations, allowing visas to be denied solely on the basis of nationality without individualized review or legal authority. The result, the lawsuit says, is a blanket denial of the case-by-case adjudication required by Congress.
Joanna Cuevas Ingram, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, one of the organizations bringing the case, said the policy had derailed the lives of people who had already overcome significant hurdles to reunite with family members.
“These policies exceed the government’s authority, violate the constitution, and strip families and working people of rights that the law clearly protects,” she said.
Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, another plaintiff organization, described the order as “base racism”, arguing that it relies on pretextual claims about nonwhite families unfairly taking public benefits.
“Congress and the constitution prohibit white supremacy as a basis for immigration policy,” Azmy said.
The lawsuit also names individual plaintiffs affected by the suspension. One is Fernando Lizcano Losada, a Colombian doctor and endocrinologist whose application for an employment-based first preference visa (EB-1A) had already been approved before being put on hold.
Other plaintiffs include US citizens who have been separated from close family members after visa processing for their spouses or children was suspended.
Among them is Cesar Andred Aguirre, a resident of Long Island, who travelled to Guatemala with his wife, Dania Mariela Escobar, for her visa interview. The family was later informed that Escobar would not be permitted to return to the US.
Their younger daughter has remained in Guatemala with her mother despite having Turner syndrome, a genetic condition requiring medical care that is not available there, according to the lawsuit.
