A federal judge in Manhattan has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, ruling that the measure exceeded the legal authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York described the policy as “patently unlawful” in her Friday ruling. She said the blanket suspension based on applicants’ nationality directly conflicted with federal immigration law and improperly interfered with the statutory role of consular officers in deciding immigrant visa applications.
The lawsuit was brought by immigrant rights organisations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, along with affected visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring relatives from the designated countries.
The visa suspension, introduced in January, covered applicants from a wide range of nations across Latin America, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Balkans. Countries affected included Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Albania.
The State Department had justified the suspension by arguing that applicants from these countries faced a high risk of becoming a “public charge” and relying on government resources in the United States.
The ruling represents another legal setback for President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda. His administration has introduced several restrictions, including broader travel measures and a pause on diversity visa processing.
Civil rights groups have criticised the immigration crackdown, arguing that some measures raise concerns over due process and discriminatory treatment.
The State Department had not immediately commented on the latest ruling.
