Civic Groups Sue State Department Over Trump Administration’s Suspension of Immigrant Visas

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[Financial News] After the Trump administration completely halted the issuance of U.S. immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, including Iran and Somalia, American civil society groups filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the measure.
The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations filed suit on the 2nd (local time) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, asking the court to block the restrictions on immigrant visa issuance, The New York Times (NYT) reported.
The plaintiffs argued that the State Department’s action is "an attempt to completely upend an immigration law framework that has been established over decades." Earlier, on the 14th of last month, the United States Department of State (State Department) announced that it would "suspend immigrant visa processing for 75 countries whose immigrants receive public benefits in the United States at an unacceptable level." The measure has been in effect since the 21st of last month.
The State Department explained that it decided to halt immigrant visa issuance because immigrants from the designated countries rely on U.S. government subsidies for basic living expenses and welfare services, thereby increasing the burden on U.S. citizens.
However, according to NYT, more than 85% of the affected countries are non-European and have large nonwhite populations. The plaintiffs countered the State Department’s claim that immigrants are draining Americans’ welfare benefits, calling it "baseless and clearly untrue." They pointed out that most immigrant visa applicants are ineligible to receive cash welfare benefits for many years after arrival.
The lawsuit was filed by five legal organizations, including the National Immigration Law Center, which represent U.S. citizens who have been harmed by the suspension of immigrant visas, such as being separated from family members. Joanna Cuevas Ingram, a senior attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, criticized the policy as restricting lawful immigration permitted under current immigration law and likened it to the national-origins quota system of the 1920s, which was eventually abolished.
Trump administration, U.S. immigration policy, immigrant visa suspension, State Department, civil society lawsuit, immigration law controversy
km@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Kyung-min Reporter