New York, NY—On August 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), in their federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s indefinite suspension of immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries.
CLINIC’s legal case was provoked by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy pausing all immigrant visa issuance to 75 countries, disproportionately affecting countries with majority nonwhite or ethnic minority populations, including many in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Trump administration cited concerns about these immigrants becoming “public charge” risks, and expanded its definition of “public charge” to include any public benefit used, even though most visa applicants are not eligible for cash welfare and remain ineligible for years. The plaintiffs argued that this is a nationality-based ban that replaces the law’s requirement for individualized consular review with a blanket rule, which they say exceeds the agency’s statutory authority.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“The New York Immigration Coalition applauds the court’s decision. By siding with the plaintiffs, the court restores the long-standing immigration process that ensures visas are issued on a case-by-case basis, not decided by nationality. The court called the administration’s actions what they were: illegal. Maintaining objectivity in immigration matters means ensuring that decisions, evaluations, and representations are neutral, evidence-based, and free from personal bias or politics, so they serve the integrity of the legal process and the best interests of the parties involved. This ruling means that a mother in Brooklyn can go back to planning for being reunited with a daughter that she has been waiting years to hold.”