Author Archives: Richard Irwin

NILC Will Fight Alongside Immigrant Youth and Allies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

NILC Will Fight Alongside Immigrant Youth and Allies

WASHINGTON — Today the Trump administration announced the rescission of the transformative DACA program, which for over five years has successfully allowed close to 800,000 immigrant youth to pursue their full potential and contribute more fully to their communities. President Trump decided to end the program despite repeatedly telling immigrant youth not to worry.

The Department of Homeland Security will cut off all new applications immediately. Those whose DACA permits expire between now and March 5, 2018, can apply for a two-year renewal by Oct. 5.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“This is a defining moment for our country. We are being called upon to choose which side of history we are on: Are we going to stand with young people who have grown up in our country and are striving to achieve their dreams? Or are we going to allow policymakers to erect barriers that block youth from contributing their best to this country, which is their home?

“President Trump allowed DACA to continue for his first seven months in office. He told young immigrant people that they could ‘rest easy’ and not fear deportation. Now Trump has bowed to his anti-immigrant advisors and base—putting politics above people, hate above reason.

“This is a morally bankrupt choice. Trump’s decision to pull the rug out from under nearly a million young people who are contributing to their communities across the country will only serve to destabilize these young people, their families, and their communities.

“DACA applicants relied on a promise by the federal government to allow them to live and work without fear of being deported if they came forward, paid a fee, passed a background check, and were deemed eligible after meeting certain requirements. The National Immigration Law Center will vigorously defend their rights—in the courtroom, if necessary—should the government renege on that promise.

“We call on educators, faith leaders, businesses, labor unions, health professionals, and all people of good conscience—regardless of political party affiliation—to stand on the right side of history and by the side of immigrant youth and their families. We must do everything in our reach to ensure they are safe, empowered, and can continue to thrive.

“Though we are heartbroken and enraged, it is crucial in this moment to recall the tremendous organizing power and energy that won DACA in the first place. Now, more than ever, we must all stand up and fight alongside immigrant youth who are fighting to maintain their livelihoods and their sense of security and belonging in this country. DACA is only the beginning of what we can do.

“We urge all members of Congress to swiftly pass the bipartisan Dream Act 2017. However, we are steadfast in our commitment to advancing the rights of all low-income immigrants and will not accept any bill that aims to further militarize border communities, ramps up Trump’s mass deportation force, or diminishes workers’ rights. The lives of immigrant youth are not a bargaining chip.”

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Government Settles in First Lawsuit Filed Against Trump’s Muslim Ban

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2017

CONTACT
Hayley Burgess, NILC, [email protected], 202.805.0375
Henrike Dessaules, IRAP, [email protected], 646.459.3081
Inga Sarda-Sorensen, ACLU, [email protected], 212.284.7347
Clare Kane, WIRAC, [email protected], 360.584.7384

Government Settles in First Lawsuit Filed Against Trump’s Muslim Ban

NEW YORK — The Trump administration today settled with the plaintiffs in the first legal challenge to the president’s executive order of Jan. 27, 2017, which sought to bar travelers from certain majority Muslim countries from entering the United States and to dramatically curtail the admission of refugees. The settlement ensures that all travelers who were barred from the country on the basis of the ban and have not since returned to the United States are informed of their right to reapply for a visa and provided with a list of free legal services organizations that can help them do so.

The settlement came in the case of Darweesh v. Trump, which was filed as a nationwide class-action in federal district court in New York City on the morning of January 28, 2017, only hours after the administration’s first Muslim ban went into effect. The ban had plunged airports across the country into chaos as the Trump administration haphazardly implemented its discriminatory policy, leading to the separation of families and exclusion of refugees fleeing persecution. By the evening of January 28, the court had issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from removing anyone from the country on the basis of the Muslim ban. As a result, the administration’s effort to bar Muslims and refugees from the country was halted barely 24 hours after it went into effect.

Having succeeded in halting detentions under the Muslim ban, the lawsuit then sought to address the harm done to those already excluded in the chaotic first days of the Muslim ban. In the settlement announced today, the government agreed to contact all individuals who had been barred from entry as a result of the ban and have not since reapplied for a visa or entered the United States and to inform them of their right to reapply for a visa. The government will also provide a list of pro bono immigration legal aid providers available to assist with the visa application. The written notice will be provided in English, Arabic, and Farsi. The settlement also requires the U.S. Justice Department to coordinate the processing of new applications for any affected individuals identified by the plaintiffs’ attorneys who are seeking to return to the U.S. in the next three months.

The plaintiffs include two Iraqi men, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who had been unjustly detained at JFK Airport due to the Muslim ban. They are represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) at the Urban Justice Center, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) at Yale Law School, and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.

When he was informed of the settlement, lead plaintiff Hameed Darweesh said, “It means a lot to me to be in America. The United States is a great country because of its people. I’m glad that the lawsuit is over. Me and my family are safe; my kids go to school; we can now live a normal life. I suffered back home, but I have my rights now. I’m a human.”

Representatives from each group gave the following statements:

Becca Heller, Director, International Refugee Assistance Project at the Urban Justice Center
“On January 27, Hameed Darweesh and thousands of others attempted to legally enter the United States. They were detained, handcuffed and, in many cases, deported. This settlement forces the government to individually reach out to everyone illegally kept out of the country and begin to remedy that wrong. But it is only a first step — we continue to fight against the illegal, discriminatory, and un-American provisions of the second Muslim ban.”

Esther Sung, staff attorney, National Immigration Law Center
“This settlement is a victory for the individuals who were unlawfully detained and deported as a result of the president’s Muslim ban, but our fight continues. The Muslim ban doesn’t just violate the Constitution, it flies in the face of dearly held values to live free from fear of persecution based on where we’re from or how we pray. This case may have ended, but we remain more committed to the fight now than ever before.”

Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, Immigrants’ Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union
“Although the government dragged its feet for far too long, it has finally agreed to do the right thing and provide those excluded under the first Muslim ban with proper notice of their right to come to the United States. While this closes one chapter in our challenge to Trump’s efforts to institute his unconstitutional ban, we continue our legal fight against Muslim ban 2.0 at the Supreme Court in October.”

Yusuf Saei, Student, Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC), Yale Law School
“This fight began when thousands of Americans showed up at airports across the country to support refugees and protest religious discrimination. This settlement closes a chapter on the Trump administration’s catastrophic Muslim ban. It delivers a measure of fairness to people who were illegally and discriminatorily barred from entering the country, but the fight against prejudice and hatred is not over.”

A copy of the settlement agreement is available at www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Darweesh-v-Trump-Settlement-Agreement-2017-08-31.pdf.

More information on Darweesh v. Trump is available at www.nilc.org/darweesh-v-trump/.

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Immigrant Youth and Advocates Respond to Trump’s Consideration of Plan to Kill DACA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2017

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149
Adela de la Torre, [email protected], 213-400,7822
Bruna Bouhid, [email protected], 202-850-0812

Immigrant Youth and Advocates Respond to Trump’s Consideration of Plan to Kill DACA, Outline Escalation of Fight to Defend Program

WASHINGTON — Following a news report that the Trump administration is “seriously considering” ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, immigrant youth, immigrant and civil rights advocates, and progressive leaders today renewed their call to President Trump to keep the DACA in place and provided the latest updates on ongoing work to defend the program. A recording of today’s call is available here.

Below are quotes from participants in today’s press conference:

Greisa Martinez Rosas, policy and advocacy director, United We Dream
“It is time for all people to organize with fierce and unapologetic determination to counter the vicious hate being pushed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and white supremacists in the White House. Every Republican elected and administration official who has tried to have it both ways is now on notice. You either oppose the drive to kill DACA or you are complicit in our suffering.”

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center
“There is no good moral, legal, or political reason to get rid of this wildly successful program. More than 100 legal scholars, countless faith leaders and economists, along with business and education leaders, have spoken in defense of the program. In addition, polls show that 7 out of 8 voters support this program. DACA is one of those rare instances where doing the right thing is also the politically popular thing.”

Damaris Gonzalez, Texas DACA recipient
“I hope that everyone with DACA, every Texan of conscience, and all people who care about immigrants, people of color in our state, and the future of this country rise up and say enough is enough. We will continue to expose Ken Paxton for his attacks on our humanity and Trump for pandering to his white supremacist supporters. This is our home, and we’re not going anywhere — we are here to stay!”

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO, Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights
“It would be a grave moral and legal error for the Trump administration to end the DACA program. We must not allow the hate and violence we saw in the streets of Charlottesville to become the guiding force for policymaking in this country. Targeting innocent immigrant young people would only deepen the moral crisis President Trump has plunged his administration into.”

Jung Woo Kim, lead organizer of NAKASEC’s 22-day round-the-clock action in front of the White House to defend DACA
“I am very scared right now. If DACA goes away, I won’t be able to work, pay my bills or anything. Where would I be then? How would I survive? We need everyone to come join us at the White House today as we fight together to save DACA and our future!”

Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible
“This administration has been systematically targeting immigrants, refugees, people of color. There is a clear connection between Trump’s attacks on DACA and his comments on Charlottesville, hints at pardoning Sheriff Arpaio, and the Muslim ban. This is all one and the same fight, and it’s part of Trump’s white supremacist agenda. We and the 6,000 Indivisible groups across the country will be standing with our partners who’ve been leading this fight to say that DACAmented youth belong here, and they are here to stay.”

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Dreamers’ Stories Show What Would Be Lost if DACA Were to End

Dreamers’ Stories Show What Would Be Lost if DACA
Were to End

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy NILC staff
August 25, 2017

Getting a driver’s license, finding a job, going to college—these are milestones in life that most of us take for granted, but for more than 800,000 young people, these things are only possible because of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

We asked DACA recipients, along with their friends and family members, to tell us what DACA means for them. The responses poured in, and the message was plain: DACA changes lives.

Fatima, for instance, was able to launch a successful career in interior design in New York City after getting DACA, and Yanet got her nursing assistant license and started working in an acute rehabilitation facility in Arizona.

Maria, of Phoenix, bought a home and started her own business, and Shahrzad loves paying taxes because she’s proud to contribute to her country.

DACA recipients are part of the everyday fabric of our communities. They’re hair stylists, software developers, dental hygienists, and more. To pull the rug from under their feet would not only be absurdly cruel, it would undermine the whole economy. Reports estimate that ending DACA could reduce the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $433.4 billion over the next 10 years, but that doesn’t even begin to touch the personal losses people could suffer if families are torn apart.

With rumors again circulating that the Trump administration may soon end DACA, it is more important than ever to share these stories and remind everyone how critical this program is for individuals and our communities. We urge everyone to share these stories, and their own, with the hashtag #DefendDACA. There’s no time to waste. DACA is under real threat, and we must show that we won’t let it go without a hell of a fight.

You can find the DACA stories we’ve collected so far here. We continue to add more daily, so check back often.

NILC Response to Reports of Possible End to DACA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Adela de la Torre, 213-400-7822

NILC Response to Reports of Possible End to DACA

WASHINGTON — News media reported today that the Trump administration is seriously considering ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

DACA allows immigrant youth who meet certain requirements to live and work in the U.S. temporarily. Since the program started in 2012, it has had a transformative impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth and their communities, and tremendous benefits for our country as a whole.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“If Trump decides to end the successful DACA program, it would signal that he has decided to follow the advice of the more extremist voices in the White House and appeal to the white supremacists in his base rather than to courageously lead in this moment. For more than five years, DACA has improved the lives not just of the young people who benefit from it, but of millions more who live and work with immigrant youth each and every day.

“During more than seven months of being operative during the Trump administration, the DACA program has worked just as well as it did under the Obama administration. Trump’s possible decision to bend to the will of a few state attorneys general who gave him a legal ultimatum would be shortsighted politically, economically, and societally.

“After so much damage, Trump has an opportunity to do the right thing by keeping this program in place. He shouldn’t squander it.

“DACA has been a lifeline for nearly 800,000 young people who have been able to flourish because the federal government gave them a chance to live, study, work, and grow in the country they call home, without the fear of being deported. We will use every tool available inside and outside the courtroom to protect the rights of DACA recipients and all of our immigrant family and community members.”

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The Lives of Immigrant Youth Are Not a “Bargaining Chip”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Patrick O’Shea, 202-384-1276

The Lives of Immigrant Youth Are Not a “Bargaining Chip”

WASHINGTON — News media reported today that the Trump administration is considering continuing protections for undocumented immigrant youth in exchange for a legislative package that would make our country’s immigration system dramatically worse. The proposed trade-offs reportedly include funding to enact mass deportation and build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as radically reducing legal immigration.

Ignacia Rodriguez, immigration policy advocate with the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“Every single day since Trump was elected, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other immigrant youth have had to think about what could happen to them. Will they lose their jobs? Will they be forced to leave the U.S., like Juan Manuel Montes, even if they have been granted DACA and the program remains in place?

“In the midst of this grueling uncertainty, the White House is reportedly considering using them as bargaining chips for making a deal. It would be shameful, in any case, to use people’s lives and basic need to feel secure in their homes as means for leveraging a political win. But to do this in order to enact a white nationalist blueprint is repulsive.

“President Trump has said he would ‘work something out’ for immigrant youth ‘that’s going to make people happy and proud.’ You don’t achieve that by gambling with the lives of nearly 800,000 people. If you acknowledge that DACA works, then defend it and leave it alone.”

(For more information on the case of Juan Manuel Montes, a DACA recipient whom U.S. Customs and Border Protection illegally expelled from the U.S. earlier this year, visit www.nilc.org/montes-v-uscbp/.)

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Statement on the Passing of Juan Osuna

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2017

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Statement on the Passing of Juan Osuna

WASHINGTON — The National Immigration Law Center mourns the passing of Juan Osuna, former director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and a former associate attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division, who passed away unexpectedly this week in Falls Church, Virginia.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“Juan Osuna will be remembered as a tireless and dedicated advocate for justice for immigrants. He had an unparalleled knowledge of our immigration court system. He was thoughtful, scholarly, and kind in his pursuit of a just and fair court system.

“Juan was an exemplary public servant whose commitment to fairness shone through throughout his tenure. The immigrant advocacy community lost a fierce ally this week. Our thoughts are with his wife, Wendy Young, the president of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and his family during this difficult time.”

For more information about Osuna’s career and life, please visit https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/immigration-law-blog/archive/2017/08/16/in-memoriam-juan-p-osuna.aspx?sthash.jluem8jE.mjjo.

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On Its Fifth Anniversary, Let’s Celebrate and #DefendDACA!

THE TORCH: CONTENTSBy Michelle Saucedo, NILC summer intern
August 15, 2017

Happy fifth DACA anniversary!

I cautiously celebrate this milestone as I recognize DACA’s success, while grappling with the concern about its possible rescission and what that could mean to so many people in this country. Since DACA’s implementation in 2012, over 800, 000 people have benefited from it, getting a chance to work with authorization, along with a reprieve from the threat of deportation.

Although its benefits are granted only for a renewable period of two years, many people took a chance on the program, putting their faith in the same government that had failed to deliver on immigration reform and continued to separate families. DACA was not the ultimate goal or desired solution, but it was a welcome reprieve for so many undocumented people who yearned to move ahead and provide for themselves, their families, and the country they call home.

While I was a Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)–accredited representative at Asian Americans Advancing Justice–L.A., I had the privilege of assisting DACA applicants and their families and got to learn about the life-changing opportunities that having deferred action brought them. I witnessed families sacrifice their savings so their child could apply. I felt the determination of applicants who continued their GED classes while working full time. I saw their hope that all these investments would be worthwhile. Now, working as a summer law clerk at NILC, I continue to see the resilience of this population and their allies.

The mental, emotional, and financial investments in DACA proved worthwhile for Naomi (not her actual name). As a high school senior, she was set to graduate several months before she and her parents decided to move forward with her DACA application. She had been accepted to several schools and had received a scholarship to attend a small liberal arts college. However, to make good on its offer, the college needed her to provide a valid Social Security number. After she got DACA, Naomi could show her valid work permit and Social Security number to every school she considered attending, and she now is on track to become the first person in her family to graduate from college. DACA has helped so many like Naomi and thousands of others who’ve been able to obtain higher-paying jobs to support their families, return to school, own a business, practice the career they studied and worked so hard for, and accomplish many other goals.

But since Donald Trump became president, affected people’s and advocates’ DACA-related concerns have shifted dramatically. We’ve gone from working to safeguard DACA’s smooth implementation to fighting back efforts to discredit and dismantle the program. Although the president, when he first took office, stepped back from his campaign promise to repeal DACA—instead indicating that he has sympathy for “Dreamers”—the volatility of his administration and threats to the program made by ten conservative state attorneys general demonstrate clearly that we’ve got to continue to vigorously protect DACA. An end to DACA would not only be a devastating loss to those who currently enjoy its benefits, but also to the U.S. economy. The Center for American Progress (CAP) estimates that ending DACA would result in a loss of $460.3 billion from the national GDP over the next decade and would remove an estimated 685,000 workers from the nation’s economy. On the flip side, continuing DACA could increase the estimated yearly contribution of DACA recipients to state and local taxes, to $2.45 billion.

But the main reason to protect DACA is that it would be inhumane to deprive hundreds of thousands of people from the freedom, opportunities, and goals they have had access to because of DACA’s benefits. At a time when nearly 8 in 10 voters, including almost three-quarters of Trump voters, support allowing “Dreamers” to stay in the country, it is important to emphasize that DACA is a policy that has safeguarded immigrant youth and that we still need a permanent solution.

Whether because of political pressure or because their conscience is calling them to do the right thing, several members of Congress have announced bipartisan legislation to protect DACA-eligible people and others who arrived to the U.S. as minors. These new versions of the Dream Act and similar legislation proposing a path for some to regularize their status may seem promising, but while we wait for Congress and the president to come up with a clean, broad legislative solution, it is important we #DefendDACA and its beneficiaries.

DACA taught me so much about the resilience and strength of the community I serve. I’m inspired by the heartfelt words of my former DACA client who said, “We’ve made it this far, and we’ll keep going. We just have to keep fighting.” We definitely must keep fighting—fighting without distractions and without fear. We must defend DACA until we have a real opportunity for permanent change. We must continue to support and stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities and be ready for the challenges to come.

DACA was a win by and for the immigrant community. Let’s remember those lessons of strength as we forge ahead.

President Trump’s Silence on White Supremacism Is Deafening

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2017

CONTACT
Adela de la Torre, 213-400-7822, [email protected]

President Trump’s Silence on White Supremacism Is Deafening

LOS ANGELES — White supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent today when neo-Nazis and others engaged in violent assaults against counter-protesters and people of color. These acts resulted in at least one fatality and several injuries. In his remarks on today’s events, President Trump blamed “many sides” for today’s atrocities.

Below is a statement issued by Reshma Shamasunder, deputy director of the National Immigration Law Center:

“Today, people who stood for fairness, justice, and equality were physically harmed. Our thoughts and prayers are with these courageous leaders and their families.

“President Trump’s failure to unequivocally condemn white supremacists and the role they played in contributing to this violence is shameful and dangerous. Through discriminatory policy, messaging and, at times, deafening silence, President Trump is sending a clear message to communities of color that our freedom, our rights, and our place in this country are less important than those of others.

“This is not acceptable. We stand firmly with the brave leaders fighting for justice and dignity for all of us, regardless of where we were born, the color of our skin, how we pray, or whom we love. The Trump administration and elected officials should do the same.”

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Court Upholds Marriage Equality in Louisiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2017

CONTACT
Elizabeth Beresford, NILC, [email protected], 917-648-0189
Stephen Boykewich, NOWCRJ, [email protected], 323-673-1307

Court Upholds Marriage Equality in Louisiana

Ruling permanently blocks state law that denies immigrants the right to marry

NEW ORLEANS — A federal district court today issued a powerful rebuke against anti-immigrant discrimination in Louisiana, issuing a permanent injunction against a state law that denies marriage equality to foreign-born Louisianans.

Viet “Victor” Anh Vo filed the lawsuit, Vo v. Gee, et al., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in October 2016 after he and his fiancée were prevented from obtaining a marriage license in multiple Louisiana parishes. They were blocked by an unconstitutional state law that requires any foreign-born person to present a certified birth certificate to obtain a marriage license. U.S.-born applicants can obtain a waiver of that requirement, but foreign-born persons cannot.

The order for summary judgment issued by the court today says, “The unconstitutionality of Act 436 applies to all residents of the State of Louisiana, not just Mr. Vo.”

Vo said, “I am thrilled that I will finally be able to marry my partner of more than 10 years in my Louisiana hometown. And I’m proud that because of our efforts, no one in Louisiana will be denied the right to marry the person they love because of the place they were born.”

Vo, 32, is a U.S. citizen and has been a resident of Louisiana since he was three months old. He was never issued an official birth certificate because he was born in a refugee camp in Indonesia after his parents fled Vietnam. His fiancée is also a U.S. citizen and lifelong Louisiana resident.

Vo was represented pro bono by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ), and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom LLP.

“To be able to marry the person you love is a fundamental right in this country no matter where you come from and where you live. Today, the court has again strongly rebuked any attempt to undermine that right. The freedom to marry is the law of the land,” said NILC staff attorney Alvaro Huerta.

NOCWRJ Staff Attorney Mary Yanik said, “This law came from the politics of hatred and discrimination, and that’s not what Louisiana stands for. The decision today reflects Louisiana’s proudest legacy, as the birthplace of movements for human and civil rights.”

Skadden attorney Marley Ann Brumme said, “We are thrilled with the Court’s decision to permanently extend the protections provided by its earlier ruling. Mr. Vo can finally marry his partner in their home state of Louisiana without the burden of unconstitutional requirements imposed solely because of the place of his birth, and we are happy to have had the opportunity to help Mr. Vo in vindicating his rights and those of other Louisianans similarly situated.”

Today’s ruling comes a half century after Loving v. Virginia, which upheld the rights of people to marry regardless of ethnicity or race.

Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed Act 436, also known as HB 836, in July 2015. Before it passed, lawmakers warned that it would unnecessarily burden foreign-born residents such as Vo and that it was “a mistake” to try to use marriage to regulate immigration. Louisiana lawmakers passed it anyway, and the law went into effect in January 2016.

Today’s court order is available at https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Vo-v-Gee-Opinion-and-Permanent-Injunction-2017-08-08.pdf.

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