Washington [US], August 22 (ANI): A US federal judge on struck down the Trump administration's policy suspending immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, ruling that the measure was "contrary to law" and exceeded the statutory authority of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CNN reported.
According to CNN, Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan issued the ruling on Friday, in another setback to the Trump administration's immigration policies.
The US State Department had paused the issuance of immigrant visas from nearly 40 per cent of the world's countries in January, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia. The department had said the move was intended to prevent the entry of people who would "take welfare and public benefits."
Vargas rejected the rationale behind the policy and ordered the reversal of visa denials that were based solely on the measure.
According to CNN, under US law, an immigrant can be denied a visa as a potential "public charge"--meaning someone expected to depend on government assistance--only after a consular officer assesses the applicant's individual circumstances, including finances, age, health, skills and family situation.
The judge found that the policy, in practice, directed US officers to reject applications based solely on an applicant's nationality, including cases where applicants could demonstrate that they were capable of supporting themselves.
The policy suspended immigrant visas for people seeking permanent residence in the US, including those seeking to join family members or take up employment. It did not cover nonimmigrant visas such as tourist or student visas.
A cable sent by Rubio to US diplomatic and consular posts, which was included in the court record, instructed officers to deny applications even where an applicant "provides additional evidence that demonstrates he or she overcomes the public charge refusal," CNN reported.
"The outcome is predetermined," Vargas wrote. "The visa will be refused."
According to the judge, the policy conflicted with a 1965 law prohibiting discrimination based on nationality in the granting of visas.
She also cited a separate provision that limits the secretary of state's authority over decisions made by individual consular officers.
However, visa denials based on separate legal grounds will remain in effect even where the policy was also cited, leaving uncertainty over the number of cases that could ultimately be reversed.
Most of the 75 countries affected by the policy are outside Europe, spanning the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
The list included several US partners, among them Jordan, Egypt and Georgia.
The State Department compiled the list using data from the Council of Economic Advisers and targeted countries where more than 30 per cent of immigrant households received some form of public assistance.
The case included six US citizens who had filed family-based petitions and said the policy prevented relatives in Ghana, Jamaica, Guatemala and Ethiopia from obtaining immigrant visas.
Five Colombians who had applied for employment-based immigrant visas were also among the plaintiffs. One of them received a denial notice that specifically cited the policy.
The Trump administration secured a limited victory on one issue, with Vargas agreeing that the policy was not a formal rule that required public notice and a period for public comment before it could be implemented, CNN reported.
In defending the policy, administration lawyers relied on a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the third version of Trump's first-term travel ban, which restricted entry by nationals of several countries, most of them Muslim-majority.
Vargas distinguished that case from the present dispute, saying the earlier ruling concerned the President's authority to determine who could enter the United States, while the current case involved the separate question of whether a visa could be issued.
Vargas, who was appointed by former US President Joe Biden, gave both sides until September 11 to submit proposals on how to address the remaining issues in the case. (ANI)
Trump administration's 75-country immigrant visa ban struck down by US judge
