100,000 Immigrants at Risk of Deportation, Class Action Says

Immigrants from Nepal and Honduras have filed a class action lawsuit against the United States federal government citing “race-based” immigration policies.

Plaintiffs in the immigration class action seek to stop the federal government from deporting 100,000 immigrants from Honduras and Nepal who have been authorized to live and work in the U.S. temporarily.

According to the class action lawsuit, the Trump administration’s is biased in “racial animus” towards people of color that immigrate to America.

Plaintiffs in the class action cite Trump’s repeated racist comments in their argument, including the president’s repeated mispronunciation of foreign locations such as Nepal and his infamous statement calling certain countries “shithole[s]”.

Countries reportedly affected by the administration’s policy changes include those designated under the temporary protected status (TPS) statute. This statute was established in 1990 as a humanitarian effort for countries affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.

In the past, presidential administrations have reportedly determined TPS designation by considering natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other country conditions to form a full picture of the country’s situation.

However, the Trump administration allegedly changed the rules for TPS designation so that only the event which prompted TPS designation was considered in deciding whether to continue or terminate the designation.

For example, now the TPS designation for Nepal is allegedly determined by considering only the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015 that killed 9,000 and injured 20,000.

Because the government is reportedly terminating TPS status for immigrants from Nepal and Honduras, around 100,000 individuals temporarily working and living in the United States will allegedly be deported. This number reportedly includes children who will be forced to return to unfamiliar countries where conditions may be dangerous.

“These children, many of whom are school-aged, face an impossible choice between leaving the only home they have ever known and growing up without one or both of their parents,” the class action lawsuit states.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Ahilan T. Arulanantham and Zoë N. McKinney of ACLU Foundation of Southern California; Jessica Karp Bansal and Emilou MacLean of National Day Laborer Organizing Network; Alycia A. Degen, Sean A. Commons, Tami Weerasingha-Cote, Ava X. Guo, Kimberly Leaman, Tyler Domino, and Jon Dugan of Sidley Austin LLP; Laboni Hoq, Christopher Lapinig, and Michelle (Minju) Cho of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles; and Jingni (Jenny) Zhao and Winifred Kao of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus.

The Honduran, Nepali Immigration Policies Class Action Lawsuit is Bhattarai, et al. v. Kirstjen Nielsen, et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-00731, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.