The Trump administration's ban on visas for immigrants from 75 countries has been struck down by a federal judge, who ruled on Friday that it was contrary to law and outside the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In January, the State Department paused the issuance of immigrant visas from almost 40 percent of the world's nations – including Jamaica, Haiti, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Somalia and Russia – in a move that it said would prevent the entry of people who would take welfare and public benefits.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan took issue with the State Department's rationale for the policy, reversing any visa denial based solely on it – in another setback to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Among the plaintiffs were six US citizens who filed family-based petitions and said the ban blocked relatives in Ghana, Jamaica, Guatemala and Ethiopia from obtaining visas.
Under the law, an immigrant can only be turned away as a likely public charge after a consular officer weighs that person's own finances, age, health, skills and family situation.
Judge Vargas found that, in practice, US officers were ordered to reject visas for applicants, even those who could support themselves, solely based on the country they came from.
The visa ban halted permanent-residence visas for people joining family members or taking jobs in the US, but did not apply to non-immigrant visas such as tourist or student visas.
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