A federal judge on Friday struck down the Trump administration’s ban on immigrant visas from 75 countries, ruling the policy was contrary to law and exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department had paused the issuance of immigrant visas from nearly 40% of the world’s nations in January, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia, and Russia. The administration stated the ban aimed to prevent the entry of individuals who would rely on welfare and public benefits.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan reversed any visa denial based solely on this policy. The judge found that US officers were instructed to reject visas for applicants based solely on their country of origin, even if they could demonstrate self-sufficiency. This practice, she determined, violated a 1965 law prohibiting discrimination by nationality in visa granting and a separate provision that denies the Secretary of State authority over individual consular officer decisions.
Under existing law, an immigrant can only be denied as a likely public charge after a consular officer assesses the individual’s finances, age, health, skills, and family situation. A cable from Secretary Rubio to diplomatic and consular posts, entered into the case record, directed officers to refuse applicants even when additional evidence showed they could overcome a public charge refusal. Judge Vargas concluded that the outcome was predetermined, stating, The visa will be refused.
The visa ban specifically halted permanent-residence visas for individuals joining family members or taking jobs in the US. It did not apply to nonimmigrant visas such as tourist or student visas. Denials based on other legal grounds remain valid, even if the ban was also cited, leaving the total number of reversals uncertain.
Most of the 75 countries affected are non-European, encompassing regions like the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. The list included several US partners, such as Jordan, Egypt, and Georgia. The State Department compiled this list using Council of Economic Advisers data, targeting nations where over 30 percent of immigrant households received some form of public assistance.
Among the plaintiffs were six US citizens who had filed family-based petitions, stating the ban prevented relatives in Ghana, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Ethiopia from obtaining visas. Five Colombians who applied through job-based visas, one of whom received a denial citing the policy, were also part of the lawsuit.
The administration did prevail on one narrower point, with the judge agreeing that the policy was not a formal rule requiring public comment before implementation. The administration’s legal team referenced a 2018 Supreme Court decision that upheld a previous travel ban, but Judge Vargas distinguished that case as concerning the president’s power to control entry, while this case focused on the issuance of visas. Judge Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has given both parties until September 11 to propose how to resolve the remaining aspects of the case. The administration retains the option to appeal the ruling.
