On Friday, July 17, 2020, attorneys with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Justice Action Center, and the Innovation Law Lab, representing twenty-three (23) plaintiffs, filed the first lawsuit to challenge the entirety of the Trump Administration's immigration bans. The plaintiffs include family-based immigrant visa petitioners, diversity visa lottery winners, and U.S. employers sponsoring nonimmigrant workers, including those who want to bring in healthcare professionals from abroad. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as an amended complaint to Gomez v. Trump, which had initially challenged the Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 2020.
The Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 2020 (Proclamation 10014) suspended entry into the U.S. foreign nationals who were outside of the U.S. and did not have a valid immigrant visa (IV) or a valid, official travel document on the effective date (April 23, 2020) of the proclamation. The Proclamation 10014 was initially to be in effect until June 22, 2020.
The Presidential Proclamation of June 22, 2020 (Proclamation 10052), suspended entry into the U.S. foreign nationals who were outside of the U.S. and did not have a valid H-1B, H-2B, J, or L nonimmigrant visa (NIV) or a valid, official travel document on the effective date (June 24, 2020) of the proclamation. It is important to note that other nonimmigrant visa categories, such as E-1, E-2, H-1B1, E-3, O-1, and P-1 were not affected by the proclamation. Proclamation 10052 has an expiration date of December 31, 2020 and may be extended. Proclamation 10052 also extends the expiration date of Proclamation 1004 to December 31, 2020.
In their press release, AILA, the Justice Action Center, and the Innovation Law Lab contend that the Presidential Proclamations are “unprecedented in scope” and that, if allowed to remain in effect, “will block approximately 525,000 people from entering the United States. Experts estimate that it will block approximately 20,000 employers from bringing needed workers into the United States.” Karen Tumlin of the Justice Action Center further states that the proclamations have “halted – potentially indefinitely – the ability of diversity visa winners to enter the U.S.”
Originally published 21 July, 2020
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