FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 30, 2026
CONTACTS:
Lilly Gonzalez, media@nipnlg.org
Democracy Forward, press@democracyforward.org
Tara Tidwell Cullen, NIJC, ttidwellcullen@immigrantjustice.org, 312-833-2967
Lawsuit Seeks to Block New Policy that Keeps Noncitizens with Pending Immigration Applications from Completing Biometric Collection
Washington, D.C. — A group of detained noncitizens represented by Democracy Forward, National Immigration Project, and the National Immigrant Justice Center filed a class action lawsuit today challenging a new Trump-Vance administration policy that blocks detained immigrants from completing biometrics processes, including fingerprints and photos, for applications filed with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which automatically causes their immigration applications to be denied.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has created a system that requires individuals to submit biometrics as part of their applications for immigration relief, while simultaneously refusing to collect that information from people in detention centers. As a result, eligible individuals are denied the opportunity to pursue lawful immigration status, including pathways available to survivors of human trafficking, abused and abandoned children, and those seeking to reunite with family members.
“The government didn’t stumble into this outcome. They engineered it,” said Michelle Mendez, Director of Legal Resources and Training at the National Immigration Project. “Require biometrics, refuse to collect them, then punish people for the gap you created. That’s not administration; that’s a trap. A deliberately broken process they’re now citing as proof that people eligible for benefits and protections deserve to be deported. We’re asking the court to see this scheme for exactly what it is.”
“In its zeal to block paths for lawful immigration, the Trump-Vance administration has yet again set up an unlawful trap for noncitizens, creating a system where people are required to meet a condition for relief and then blocking them from ever meeting it,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “This policy is as unlawful as it is cruel – it strips people of their legal rights, shuts down pathways to safety and stability, and fast-tracks deportation without due process. Courts exist for moments like this. We are asking the court to restore access to legal protections Congress guaranteed.”
“The National Immigrant Justice Center represents many people trapped in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers who have submitted applications to become lawful permanent residents or to seek protection from trafficking, abuse, or persecution. Now, those applications are being derailed because ICE is blocking people from providing the biometrics information required by USCIS,” said Mary Georgevich, a senior litigation attorney at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “Without intervention from the court, the Trump-Vance administration will use this newest mass-deportation policy to systematically separate more families and deport more people to danger, even if they have pending applications for legal protection.”
The complaint highlights the policy's real-world impact on detained individuals with pending immigration relief applications. One plaintiff, a young survivor of abuse, has already had his application denied once because biometrics were not collected while he was in detention, and now faces the same outcome again. Another plaintiff, a survivor of human trafficking, was unable to attend a scheduled biometrics appointment because he was detained and not transported, leaving him unable to complete his application, and he is now at risk of deportation.
Federal law requires USCIS to adjudicate properly filed applications for immigration benefits, and biometrics collection is a mandatory step in that process. The lawsuit alleges that the DHS policy violates federal immigration law, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantee by effectively preventing detained individuals from accessing the relief they are legally entitled to pursue.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to block enforcement of the policy, vacate it, and restore access to the application process while the case proceeds.
The case is J. Z. et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. The legal team includes Sean Ouellette, Anne Swift, Jennie Kneedler, Paul Wolfson, and Elena Goldstein of Democracy Forward; Michelle Mendez of the National Immigration Project; and Mary Georgevich, Keren Zwick, Richard Caldarone, Gerardo Romo, and Nicole May of the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Read the complaint here.
A Spanish version of this press release is available here.