On November 28, 2018, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, Maryland filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The plaintiff sued U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and the U.S. Department of State under the Administrative Procedure Act and Bivens for violations of the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiff, represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation and the City of Baltimore Department of Law, sought attorneys’ fees and declaratory and injunctive relief prohibiting defendants from enforcing January 2018 changes to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual. The changes were to instructions to consular officers on how to determine the likelihood a visa applicant would become a public charge if admitted to the United States. The plaintiff alleged that the increase in public benefit listed in the new definition would, in effect, decrease the number of immigrants eligible to apply for visas. The changes were made without providing the public legally required notice, explanation, and opportunity for comment.

The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint on February 25, 2019. They argued that the City of Baltimore lacked subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

The lawsuit is ongoing.

Ashton Dubey - 10/02/2019


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