US judge strikes down Trump policy suspending immigrant visa processing for 75 countries

A US judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that halted immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan declared the policy "patently unlawful," stating it overstepped the Secretary of State's authority and violated federal immigration law.

The State Department had announced the suspension in January, citing that applicants from these nations posed a "high risk for becoming a public charge." The affected countries spanned Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

Immigrant rights groups, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, filed the lawsuit. They argued the policy, along with other Trump-era immigration crackdowns, infringed on free speech, due process, and created an unsafe environment, particularly for ethnic minorities concerned about racial profiling.

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The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.