US Judge Blocks Trump-Admin Visa Ban for 75 Countries
A US federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries. US District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statutory authority, calling it 'patently unlawful'.
The policy, announced in January, aimed to restrict immigrant visas due to concerns over public charges and reliance on government resources. However, the judge argued that this decision directly abrogated federal immigration law, which stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers' processing of immigrant visas.
The affected countries include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
The judge's ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, as well as immigrant-visa applicants and U.S. citizens sponsoring family members from the designated countries.