Providence, R.I. — A coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions filed a lawsuit today challenging a series of sweeping new discriminatory policies by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that have effectively shut down large portions of the legal immigration system for many people already living in the United States. The policies include a nationwide halt on asylum adjudications, an indefinite freeze on immigration benefit applications for people from countries subject to the Trump-Vance administration’s travel ban, a sweeping re-review of previously approved immigration benefits, and new guidance instructing immigration officials to weigh an applicant’s country of origin against them when deciding discretionary benefits.
The policies are the latest in a series of unlawful executive actions seeking to target immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States who are seeking to access or maintain immigration benefits available under U.S. law.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, was brought by Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, Refugee Dream Center, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), African Communities Together (ACT), Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts (VAM), Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), and American Gateways. The organizations are represented by Democracy Forward, Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), Muslim Advocates, and South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO).
In the complaint, plaintiffs highlight how these four policies have left millions of people in legal limbo: preventing asylum seekers from obtaining protection, blocking immigrants from renewing work permits or applying for green cards, putting previously granted legal status at risk of revocation, and exposing applicants to national-origin-based denials of immigration benefits.
Plaintiff’s and co-counsel’s quotes are available here.
The complaint alleges that USCIS’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Constitution. Among other things, the policies include:
- The “Global Asylum Hold”: Indefinitely halts all affirmative asylum adjudications, preventing people fleeing persecution from obtaining protection.
- The “Benefits Hold”: Freezes immigration benefit applications, including work permits and green cards, for people from dozens of countries targeted by the administration’s travel ban.
- The “Comprehensive Re-Review”: Requires the government to re-review previously approved immigration benefits, putting individuals who already secured lawful status at risk of losing it.
- The “Country-Specific Factors Policy”: Instructs immigration officers to treat a person’s country of origin as a negative factor when deciding discretionary immigration benefits.
Plaintiffs highlight how the policies are already causing severe harm to immigrant communities across the country and disrupting the work of nonprofits and unions that help immigrants obtain lawful status, work authorization, and stability.
As the complaint explains, Congress tasked USCIS with adjudicating immigration benefit applications under clear legal standards. By indefinitely suspending entire categories of immigration decisions and targeting applicants based on nationality, the challenged policies abandon those statutory requirements and replace them with sweeping restrictions that Congress never authorized.
The case is Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al.
Read the complaint here.
A Spanish version of this press release is available here.
