New York — A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping suspension of immigrant visas for nationals from 75 countries, ruling the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority. Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York called the freeze “patently unlawful” in a Friday ruling.
The lawsuit, filed by Catholic Legal Immigration Network, African Communities Together, along with immigrant visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring family members, challenged a State Department directive that took effect in January. That directive blocked immigrant visa applications from a broad list of nations spanning Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote that the policy “categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant,” directly conflicting with federal immigration law. The law, she noted, explicitly stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers’ decisions on immigrant visas.
The affected countries included Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America; Bosnia and Albania in the Balkans; Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia; and numerous nations in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
The State Department justified the freeze by saying applicants from those countries were “at a high risk for becoming a public charge” — meaning they might rely on government assistance. But the judge found that rationale could not override the clear statutory scheme.
President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown, arguing it improves domestic security. The 75-country visa freeze was just one of several measures, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. It followed a broader travel ban on nationals from 39 countries that started January 1, and a pause on diversity visa issuance in late December.
Rights groups have raised concerns that such policies violate free speech and due process, and may lead to racial profiling, particularly for minorities. The State Department has not yet commented on the ruling.
