Families Challenge Trumps 75-Country US Visa Suspension Policy

A Lawsuit Challenges US Visa Processing Suspension for 75 Countries

A group of United States citizens and immigrant rights organizations has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s decision to suspend immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries. The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, alleges that the administration’s policy is based on an unsupported claim about immigrants relying on cash welfare.

The lawsuit claims that the administration’s policy constitutes an unlawful nationality-based ban on legal immigration and a new set of discriminatory public charge rules. It argues that the policy strips families and working people of their right to process guaranteed by law.

The State Department has described the action as a “pause” on immigrant visa processing for countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. However, the department has not revealed the criteria used to determine which countries were added to the list.

The affected countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Brazil, Colombia, Cambodia, and several others. Non-immigrant visas, including business and tourist visas, remain exempt.

The lawsuit names over a dozen organizations and individuals as plaintiffs, along with seven legal organizations that support them. They argue that the administration’s policy misuses the “public charge” ground for inadmissibility laid out in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The provision is meant to be an individualized determination made on a case-by-case basis.

The plaintiffs also argue that the administration has adopted an overly broad interpretation of what constitutes a “public charge”. They claim that this policy disproportionately affects people from certain regions, including Africa, the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Source: Al Jazeera