Hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants seeking green cards
Noman Sabit: Senator Ruben Gallego has sent a letter aimed as a first step to reverse a controversial Trump administration immigration policy that critics say could separate families and disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants seeking green cards.
The Arizona Democrat announced the measure on Wednesday, saying the move could help to repeal a recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy memo that appears to significantly narrow access to the long-standing “adjustment of status” process. The change, unveiled in May, directed immigration officers to approve green card applications filed from within the U.S. only in “extraordinary” circumstances, potentially requiring many applicants to leave the country and complete the process abroad. The senator framed his proposal as a response to what he described as an anti-family policy.
“I said I would do everything to fight Trump’s anti-family green card policy, and now I’m doing just that. But this is just the first step. I’ll keep pushing so that American children aren’t left without a parent,” Gallego wrote on X on Wednesday.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security via email on Wednesday afternoon for comment.
Gallego’s Green Card Letter: What To Know
In his letter, first reported by The Hill, Gallego asked the acting comptroller general of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to determine whether the new policy should qualify as a rule. That distinction could allow Congress to repeal it via the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
The CRA has been used to repeal more than 40 rules over the years, the majority of those under President Donald Trump.
“The new guidance would impact potentially hundreds of thousands of noncitizens and their families in the U.S. per year— representing a major change in policy and therefore satisfying the CRA’s definition of a rule,” the senator wrote, as he asked the GAO to intervene.
He highlighted the estimated 2.7 million undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens who could be forced to leave their spouses if they applied for a green card under the new policy.
“Many of these noncitizens are eligible to apply to adjust status from within the U.S., yet the policy memorandum would render them ineligible for permanent residency abroad due to the three- and ten-year bars on re-entry for noncitizens who have previously been in the country illegally,” he wrote.
Gallego also warned that, unlike USCIS decisions, consular denials of visas or green cards are not subject to administrative or judicial review, making it harder for longtime visa holders to challenge such decisions.
What Has DHS Said?
The Trump administration has argued that the policy restores the original intent of immigration law and closes what it describes as a loophole that allowed temporary visa holders to transition too easily to permanent residency.
USCIS initially said last month that applicants in the U.S. who want green cards would generally be expected to apply through consular processing in their home countries unless they can demonstrate extraordinary circumstances.
However, the administration has since seemed to walk back the announcement with DHS saying it “was just a reminder to officers of their discretionary authority,” and also said that immigrants “who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear.”
Nonetheless, the DHS memo has sparked significant concern among those applying for green cards, immigration attorneys, employers and immigrant advocacy groups, who warn that forcing applicants to leave the country could create lengthy delays, while increasing the risk of visa denials and separating families.
Analysts have noted that adjustment of status has been the primary pathway to permanent residency for many employment-based and family-sponsored immigrants for decades.
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