A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must unpause green card applications for dozens of immigrants originally from countries on the current travel ban list, potentially giving others affected by the ban a chance to get their cases heard.
The case, representing 83 immigrants already in the U.S., is among a handful brought by people affected by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy pausing applications from all immigrants from the 39 countries that have total travel bans or restrictions on new visas issued by the State Department.
{snip}
A campaign tracking the pause, called Project Press Unpause, estimates USCIS had collected over $1 billion in fees from over 2 million applications it was not processing.
{snip}
The presidential proclamations at issue—the original and then expanded travel bans—were issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and were framed as entry restrictions—that is, limits on who may enter the United States from designated “Countries of Identified Concern.”
USCIS took this as applying to the agency, issuing policy memos which imposed indefinite holds on adjudicating green card applications solely based on where applicants were born—i.e., the affected 39 countries.
In a 39-page ruling issued Friday and published Monday, Russell found that policy amounted to an unlawful, categorical and indefinite pause on green card applications.
Russell underscored this in his ruling, writing that many plaintiffs, “have already been admitted to the United States, some for years or over a decade,” and had maintained lawful status.
{snip}
The judge rejected the government’s argument that courts lack authority to review the freeze, explaining that while immigration officials have discretion in how they decide cases, they do not have the power to indefinitely refuse to decide them. Unlike routine delays caused by visa backlogs, the court said USCIS has a legal obligation to process applications within a reasonable time.
{snip}
The ruling effectively rolls back the policy to the way things worked before the freeze, allowing applications to proceed normally. However, it does not guarantee that any applicant will be approved or denied—it only requires that USCIS make a decision.
{snip}
The post Green Card Update: Applicants Impacted by Trump Travel Ban Get Legal Win appeared first on American Renaissance.
American RenaissanceRead More
T1
