Amid Reports of Mass Visa ‘Pause,’ Groups File Emergency Motion to Enforce Court Order Striking Down 75-Country Visa Ban

Press Release

NEW YORK — Immigrant families, workers, and legal assistance groups harmed by the Trump administration’s 75-country ban on immigrant visas filed an emergency motion to enforce Friday’s court order and judgment in CLINIC v. Rubio. The filing directly responds to reports that the State Department ordered a global “pause” on immigrant visa appointments, citing a training program as the reason after the court issued its order. On Friday, Aug. 21, a federal court struck down the Trump administration’s blanket ban on immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries and found the Secretary of State had no authority to “pause” or suspend visa processing.

“The August 21 ruling created an important path forward for families who have been waiting for their immigrant visa cases to move ahead,” said Adriana Coppola, supervising attorney of emerging issues at CLINIC. “CLINIC’s emergency motion is focused on ensuring that the court’s decision is implemented in a way that allows those cases to proceed fairly, individually, and with respect for the dignity of each person and the importance of family reunification.”

“Families who have waited for months to be reunited with their loved ones continue to be separated across oceans as a result of the government refusing to abide by the court’s order and lift the blanket visa ban,” said Efrén C. Olivares, vice president of litigation & legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). “We continue to seek justice for our plaintiffs and have sought relief from the court to ensure the government complies with the order and judgment immediately.”

“The court’s orders were crystal clear – the Trump-Vance administration’s Visa Ban is unlawful and cannot be enforced,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Yet the administration is egregiously and flagrantly ignoring a duly issued court order and enforcing unlawful policies that continue to inflict enormous harm on families and communities across the country. On behalf of our brave clients, we are asking the court to enforce its judgment and ensure that the government stops this abuse of power.”

“The court was clear: the State Department cannot simply stop processing immigrant visas because it chooses to. Yet days after that ruling, the administration appears to be doing exactly that under a different name,” said Antionette Dozier, senior attorney, Western Center on Law & Poverty. “This blatant attempt to sidestep the law continues to keep families separated, disrupt lives, and leave people who have already endured months of uncertainty in limbo. A court order is not a suggestion. The administration must follow the law and resume processing these visas.”

“This administration’s seeming default is disorder and lawlessness, wherever that serves to hurt and exclude families of color,” said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The executive branch shouldn’t have to be forced, again, to follow the law, yet we need additional judicial intervention to protect those families the administration seems determined to punish.” 

“Legitimate global training programs are not rolled out in this manner,” said Sarah Wilson, partner & federal immigration litigation practice leader at Colombo & Hurd. “We are optimistic that the court will see this for what it is: blatant noncompliance with a thoughtful and well-reasoned court order.”

“The court’s decision made clear that the ban is unlawful and that the processing of visas for the families and workers impacted directly by the ban should proceed,” said Susan Welber, supervising attorney in the civil practice at The Legal Aid Society. “The Defendants’ outrageous attempt to thwart the processing of such visas worldwide smacks of animus and pretext.”  

“The Administration cannot keep circumventing the legal system. This ban is unjust, and the court has agreed. We won’t let the Administration continue separating families and targeting our communities. It must resume processing visas and follow the law,” said Diana Konaté, Deputy Executive Director, African Communities Together

The National Immigration Law Center, Democracy Forward, The Legal Aid Society, the Western Center on Law & Poverty, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Colombo & Hurd brought the lawsuit on behalf of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); African Communities Together; and individuals whose lives were upended by the ban. The case was filed on February 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The lawsuit argued that the U.S. Department of State imposed an unlawful, discriminatory, nationality-based barrier to legal immigration that strips families and working people of the process guaranteed by law. The Trump administration baselessly cited “public charge” risk as its stated justification for the ban, after relentlessly and cruelly smearing immigrant communities, particularly communities of color.

The defendants in the lawsuit are U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. Department of State.

Read last week’s decision here and the response to the decision here.