Attorney General James Helps Secure Victory for Immigrants Seeking to Enter U.S.

AG James Co-Led Coalition Fighting Trump Administration’s
Illegal Attempts to Block Immigrants from Securing Visas

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James tonight announced a major victory against the Trump Administration, blocking the administration’s efforts to further restrict the approval of visas for immigrants seeking to enter the United States. A federal court granted a motion for a preliminary injunction supported by Attorney General James to stop Trump Administration rules that aim to deny green cards and visas to immigrants who are likely to use government assistance programs in the future.

In February, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general, as well a handful of local municipalities, in filing an amicus brief in federal court supporting the request for an immediate halt to the implementation of the new Trump Administration rules.

“Despite the Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to discriminate against those who don’t have the financial means to buy their way into this country, the court today came down on the side of justice and equality,” said Attorney General James. “Immigrants of all financial backgrounds make great contributions to this nation, and despite the president’s continued assaults on these groups, we will never stop fighting to protect them.”

One of the rules that is the subject of today’s preliminary injunction would deny green cards and visas to those who cannot guarantee that they will either have certain types of private health insurance within 30 days of arriving in the United States or, alternatively, have the means to pay for any foreseeable medical costs that may arise during their time in the United States. The other rules that the district court preliminarily halted would have changed the established meaning of public charge for immigrants seeking to enter the United States.