Judge Blocks Trump Visa Ban Affecting 75 Countries

A federal judge has struck down Trump's visa ban affecting 75 countries, ruling it unlawful and beyond the powers granted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The policy had frozen immigrant visa applications from nearly 40 percent of the world's nations since January.

US District Judge Jeannette Vargas issued the ruling on August 21, stating that the ban fell outside Rubio's legal authority and directly violated a 1965 law that bars visa discrimination based on nationality. The policy aimed to prevent people who might 'take welfare and public benefits' from entering the country.

The administration built its list of 75 countries using Council of Economic Advisers data, targeting nations where more than 30 percent of immigrant households received some form of public assistance. Judge Vargas found that this approach was not applied consistently, with officers rejecting applicants even when they provided additional evidence to overcome the ban.

The plaintiffs in the case were six US citizens who'd filed family-based petitions for relatives in Ghana, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Ethiopia, as well as five Colombian nationals who'd applied for job-based visas. The ruling has left it unclear how many rejected applications could be reversed.