March 5, 2026 

Contact: South Asian American Justice Collaborative: press@saajco.org  

Broad Coalition of Immigrant Service Organizations and Labor Unions File a Lawsuit to Block Trump-Vance Administration Policies Targeting Immigrants Based on Country of Origin 

Challenge Addresses Sweeping USCIS Policies that Halt Asylum, Freeze Immigration Benefits, and Leave Millions in Legal Limbo, including Thousands of Afghan Americans 

Providence, R.I. —  A coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions filed a lawsuit today challenging a series of sweeping new discriminatory policies by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that have effectively shut down large portions of the legal immigration system for many people already living in the United States. The policies include a nationwide halt on asylum adjudications, an indefinite freeze on immigration benefit applications for people from countries subject to the Trump-Vance administration’s travel ban, a sweeping re-review of previously approved immigration benefits, and new guidance instructing immigration officials to weigh an applicant’s country of origin against them when deciding discretionary benefits.  

SEE: Dorcas, et al v USCIS, et al ECF 1 Complaint 

The policies are the latest in a series of unlawful executive actions seeking to target immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States who are seeking to access or maintain immigration benefits available under U.S. law. 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, was brought by Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, Refugee Dream Center, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), African Communities Together (ACT),  Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts (VAM), Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), and American Gateways. The organizations are represented by Democracy Forward, Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), Muslim Advocates, and South Asian American Justice Collaborative (SAAJCO). 

In the complaint, plaintiffs highlight how these four policies have left millions of people in legal limbo: preventing asylum seekers from obtaining protection, blocking immigrants from renewing work permits or applying for green cards, putting previously granted legal status at risk of revocation, and exposing applicants to national-origin-based denials of immigration benefits.  

“SAAJCO is proud to join other immigrant rights organizations to represent plaintiffs around the country serving underserved communities to challenge this latest set of USCIS discriminatory policies,” said Anisa Rahim, Legal Director of the South Asian American Justice Collaborative. “Because of these policies, asylum applications are at a standstill, work permits and other benefits are being halted for individuals from 39 countries under the misguided logic of the travel ban, and legal permanent residents are in the process of being revetted. For communities seeking safety or stability in the United States, these policies push families into uncertainty and undermine the fairness our immigration system is supposed to uphold.” 

See quotes from other organizations here. 

The complaint alleges that USCIS’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Constitution. Among other things, the policies include: 

• The “Global Asylum Hold”: Indefinitely halts all affirmative asylum adjudications, preventing people fleeing persecution from obtaining protection.  

• The “Benefits Hold”: Freezes immigration benefit applications, including work permits and green cards, for people from dozens of countries targeted by the administration’s travel ban.  

• The “Comprehensive Re-Review”: Requires the government to re-review previously approved immigration benefits, putting individuals who already secured lawful status at risk of losing it.  

• The “Country-Specific Factors Policy”: Instructs immigration officers to treat a person’s country of origin as a negative factor when deciding discretionary immigration benefits.  

Plaintiffs highlight how the policies are already causing severe harm to immigrant communities across the country and disrupting the work of nonprofits and unions that help immigrants obtain lawful status, work authorization, and stability. 

As the complaint explains, Congress tasked USCIS with adjudicating immigration benefit applications under clear legal standards. By indefinitely suspending entire categories of immigration decisions and targeting applicants based on nationality, the challenged policies abandon those statutory requirements and replace them with sweeping restrictions that Congress never authorized.