A federal judge in the United States has struck down the Trump administration's policy suspending immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, ruling that it goes beyond the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a ruling issued Friday (local time), Judge Jeannette Vargas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan said the policy was "plainly unlawful" and conflicted with federal immigration law, which strips the Secretary of State of authority to veto consular officers' decisions on immigrant visa issuance.
"The policy, which categorically bars the issuance of immigrant visas based on an applicant's nationality, directly violates this statutory framework," Judge Vargas wrote.
Judge Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued the ruling in a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights groups including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, alongside immigrant visa applicants and U.S. citizens sponsoring relatives from the designated countries.
The suspension, in effect since January, affects applicants from Latin American nations such as Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay; Balkan countries including Bosnia and Albania; South Asian states like Pakistan and Bangladesh; and numerous countries across Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
The State Department had previously said applicants from these countries were "at elevated risk of becoming a public burden and using resources of local, state, and federal agencies in the United States."
President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown during his term, which he says aims to improve domestic security. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, this freeze is one of several restrictions the administration imposed in succession, following a broader travel ban covering 39 countries that took effect on January 1, and a suspension of diversity visas in late December last year.
Advocacy groups argue that this tightening campaign violates rights to free speech and due process, particularly for minorities, citing concerns about racial profiling.
The State Department has not commented on the ruling.
