Immigrant Groups Sue Rubio Over Visa Suspension Covering 75 Countries

A coalition of immigration organizations, attorneys and U.S. citizens sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the State Department in federal court in New York on February 2, 2026, asking a judge to overturn an order suspending immigrant visa approvals for nationals of 75 countries. The State Department had announced the pause in January, saying it applied to "75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates," and identified Somalia, Haiti, Iran and Eritrea among them. The list also included Cuba, the country Rubio's parents emigrated from in 1956.

The complaint argues the department's "public charge" rationale rests on what the plaintiffs call an unsupported and demonstrably false premise, noting that many immigrant visa applicants are barred from federal cash assistance for years after arrival. Plaintiffs say the suspension reaches nearly half of all immigrant visa applications worldwide, and contend that a blanket country-based pause exceeds the consular authority Congress delegated to the executive branch.

The case was pending at filing; no court had ruled on the suspension's lawfulness as of the February 2026 reporting.