Victory! DC Court Upholds Immigration Ban 

Agreeing with IRLI, court denies injunction  

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the federal district court for the District of Columbia refused to grant an injunction against President Trump’s ban on green cards issued abroad. Late last week, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) had filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the court to deny the injunction. 

In his proclamation, the President suspended immigration to reserve jobs for American workers in this time of sky-high unemployment. But the plaintiffs, who had left their children behind to immigrate to this country, argued that the freeze on green cards abroad meant that their children about to turn 21 would find it far more difficult to join their parents in the U.S. than otherwise would have been the case. The court was skeptical of this claim, however, finding that the proclamation left open other avenues of relief for the plaintiffs’ children, and declined to issue an injunction. 

“We have defended the President’s immigration ban a number of times now, and are pleased to say that so far it remains unhindered by any of the challenges against it,” said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. “As a legal matter, his authority in this area of foreign affairs is crystal clear, and his use of it here to protect Americans’ livelihoods is exactly what Congress intended. Going forward, it is vital to maintain the President’s authority to issue this and other proclamations in the national interest.” 

The case is Gomez v. Trump, No. 1:20-cv-01419 (D.D.C.).