Litigation Department
IRAP’s litigation department is dedicated to bringing innovative court challenges to address systemic issues affecting refugees, asylum seekers and others in need of a safe home. We leverage IRAP’s relationships with thousands of clients, expertise in providing direct client services, and connections to advocates around the world to advance the rights of all people to safe passage and to the opportunity to thrive.
Since we launched in 2017, we have won court victories that have benefited tens of thousands of people, including by re-opening pathways that have been shut down or restricted, and by ensuring that the government is processing applications promptly and fairly.
Current Cases
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M.M.M. v. State: Challenging the U.S. government’s unfair application of the Child Status Protection Act to Afghan children
IRAP filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. government’s determination that a group of Afghan children aged out of eligibility to immigrate to safety in the United States because of the government’s delays in adjudicating their parents’ SIV applications.
Bizuru v. USCIS: Challenging discretionary denials in refugee applications
IRAP filed a case on behalf of three Congolese families who applied and were approved for resettlement to the United States as refugees only to have their travel abruptly canceled and their refugee cases discretionarily denied without explanation.
Afghan and Iraqi Allies v. Blinken: Challenging systemic delays in deciding Special Immigrant Visa applications
IRAP filed this class action challenge to systemic delays in deciding Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications of Afghans and Iraqis whose lives are at risk because of their work supporting U.S. efforts in their home countries.
F.M. v. State Department: Challenging the visa denial of a U.S. citizen’s Afghan spouse
This case challenges the State Department’s denial of a visa for the Afghan spouse of a U.S. citizen because the denial failed to meet basic constitutional standards that require the State Department to provide a timely and reasoned explanation of the basis for the denial.
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CBP detaining migrants in open-air sites along the border
IRAP and six other organizations filed a formal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties asking for it to end Border Patrol’s practice of detaining migrants at open-air sites along the U.S.-Mexico border without providing basic necessities for days at a time.
FOIA: Refugee, SIV, and humanitarian parole pathways for Afghans
One year after the State Department created a new refugee program for U.S.-affiliated Afghans, IRAP, represented by Hogan Lovells, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit seeking records from the State Department about processing of Afghan refugee, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and humanitarian parole applications.
FOIA: Refugee data and recordkeeping
IRAP filed a lawsuit seeking records from USCIS the State Department about the demographics, processing, and adjudication of applications for admission to the United States as a refugee through the USRAP, which has long provided a pathway for refugees to reach safety and security within the United States.
Cases in Settlement Monitoring
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Doe v. Mayorkas: Challenging the mass denial of refugee status to Iranian religious minorities
This class action lawsuit challenges the mass denial of refugee applications of nearly 90 Iranians of persecuted minority faiths who had traveled to Vienna to be processed under the Lautenberg Amendment.
Closed Cases
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Department of State v. Muñoz: Choosing between love and country
IRAP and American Families United submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of State v. Muñoz showcasing stories of families who, like the couple at the core of the case, were separated by consular decisions.
Kiakombua v. Wolf: Protecting the credible fear process for seeking asylum
This case challenged the April 2019 and September 2019 changes to the Credible Fear Interview Lesson Plan, the U.S. government’s manual for conducting a screening interview to assess whether an asylum seeker should be allowed to pursue their asylum claim in immigration court.
Alobaid v. Jaddou: Challenging arbitrary barriers to the reunification of Syrian refugee families
IRAP filed a lawsuit on behalf of two U.S. citizens to challenge a government policy preventing Syrian refugees from accessing a family reunification pathway created to bypass years-long visa backlogs.
Adam v. Pompeo: Challenging the delays in adjudicating I-730/Follow-To-Join Petitions for Family Reunification
IRAP filed this lawsuit in partnership with two resettled Darfuri refugees who have been waiting for a decision on their petitions for their spouses and children to join them in the United States.
HIAS v. Trump: Protecting refugees against state and local veto of resettlement
IRAP filed this lawsuit on behalf of three resettlement agencies challenging an Executive Order giving state and local officials the unprecedented power to refuse refugees being resettled in their jurisdictions.
FOIA: USCIS processing of Afghan humanitarian parole
IRAP, in partnership with the American Immigration Council and Winston & Strawn, filed FOIA litigation challenging USCIS’s failure to respond to two FOIA requests seeking information about USCIS’s processing of Afghan humanitarian cases.
FOIA: The Defense Department’s “Project Rabbit” verifying the employment of Afghan SIV applicants
IRAP filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department to challenge the agency’s failure to release documents about “Project Rabbit,” a little-publicized program to review the employment qualifications of Afghan SIV applicants.
FOIA: “Meta-FOIA” and agency information systems
In this case, IRAP sought to compel DHS and the State Department to publish an index and descriptions of their major information systems online, so that FOIA requestors can better understand what information agencies have and how to ask for that information.
FOIA: Access to refugee applicant records
IRAP filed a lawsuit challenging USCIS’s policy of refusing to search the database it uses for refugee adjudications (called “WRAPS”) and claiming to have no records of refugee case files when responding to FOIA requests. Consistent with this policy, USCIS failed to produce a single document when IRAP requested its client’s refugee case file.
FOIA: Refugee adjudication policies and procedures
In September 2019, IRAP filed a lawsuit seeking records withheld by the agencies that explain the current state of refugee processing, including training materials, manuals, and policies that govern officers’ evaluations of refugee applications.