District Court Issues Nationwide Injunction on Both DOS and DHS Public Charge Regulations Due to COVID-19 (July 29, 2020)

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary stay of the Department of Homeland Security’s Final Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Rule (“Public Charge Rule”). The government is enjoined from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective the Rule for any period during which there is a declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The order notes, “a nationwide injunction is both necessary to redress the harms caused by the Rule and appropriate given the strong federal interest in uniformity of the national health and immigration policies at issue here.”

The Court also issued a separate order granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the application or implementation of the 2018 Foreign Affairs Manual Public Charge Revisions, Department of State Public Charge Rule, and Public Charge Proclamation.

The order notes, “a geographically limited injunction would be especially unworkable in a case such as this, where consular officers on foreign soil would have to determine how to apply different rules to different applicants.”

The injunctions remain in place until further order of the Court. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are likely to appeal these orders, but the agencies also should issue guidance in the meantime regarding the filing of impacted immigration applications.

If you have questions about how these orders may impact your case with Goldblum & Pollins, contact your attorney.