Immigrant Daily

Federal Judge Granted Class Action Status to Immigrant Suit

A lawsuit filed by hundreds of thousands of Central American immigrants contending that the United States illegally overcharged them for their right to stay in the country has been granted a class-action status by a federal judge in San Francisco. Attorney Linda Dardarian believes that the order by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson allows about 400,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador to challenge the fees and potentially seek $100 million in refunds. Henderson said in an earlier ruling that the immigrants had made a strong case that the fees violated federal law. The 1990 law permits the Central Americans to stay in the United States as it grants a temporary residence to foreigners who fled their homelands owing to war or natural disaster. The 1990 law limits individual registration fees to $50. Justice Department lawyers argued that the $50 limit applied only to each immigrant’s one-time registration fee and did not prevent the government from assessing additional charges to cover the costs of security and anti-fraud programs.

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