A federal judge in New York has dealt a legal blow to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, overturning the administration’s suspension of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York ruled that the policy exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conflicted with federal immigration law.
Vargas described the measure as “patently unlawful”, saying it improperly allowed visa issuance to be restricted based solely on an applicant’s nationality.
“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme”, she wrote.
The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights organisations, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, alongside visa applicants and U.S. citizens sponsoring relatives from affected countries.
The visa suspension took effect in January and covered applicants from countries across Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
The State Department had defended the policy, arguing that applicants from the affected countries faced a high risk of becoming dependent on public resources in the United States.
