Trump’s 75-country immigrant visa ban struck down by judge
A federal judge on Friday struck down the Trump administration’s ban on immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, ruling it was “contrary to law” and beyond Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s authority.
The State Department paused immigrant visa issuance from nearly 40% of the world’s countries in January, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia, saying the policy would prevent people from entering the US who would “take welfare and public benefits.”
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that visa applicants could not be denied solely under that policy. Under federal law, a person can only be deemed likely to become a “public charge” after a consular officer considers their finances, age, health, skills and family circumstances.
Vargas found US officers were instead ordered to reject applicants based solely on their nationality, even if they could support themselves. A Rubio cable instructed officers to refuse applicants even when they provided evidence overcoming the public-charge concern. “The outcome is predetermined,” Vargas wrote. “The visa will be refused.”
She said the policy violated a 1965 law barring nationality-based discrimination in visa issuance and another provision limiting the secretary of state’s authority over individual consular decisions.
The ban affected permanent-residence visas for people joining family members or taking jobs in the US, but not tourist or student visas. Denials based on other legal grounds remain valid.
The 75 countries, mostly non-European, span the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, including US partners such as Jordan, Egypt and Georgia. The State Department used Council of Economic Advisers data to target countries where more than 30% of immigrant households received public assistance.
Plaintiffs included six US citizens whose relatives in Ghana, Jamaica, Guatemala and Ethiopia were affected, as well as five Colombians seeking job-based visas.
Vargas agreed the policy did not require public comment before implementation. She rejected the administration’s reliance on a 2018 Supreme Court decision upholding Trump’s first-term travel ban, saying that case concerned presidential authority over entry, while this case concerned whether visas could be issued.
Vargas, appointed by former President Joe Biden, gave both sides until September 11 to propose how to proceed. The administration can appeal.
