New York [US], August 23: A United States judge has struck down a policy introduced by the administration of President Donald Trump suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, saying the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statutory authority.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of Manhattan said in her ruling on Friday in the Southern District of New York that the policy was "patently unlawful" and conflicted with federal immigration law, which explicitly stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers' adjudication of immigrant visas.
"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," she wrote.
Vargas, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, along with applicants for immigrant visas and US citizens sponsoring family members from the designated countries.
The suspension, which took effect in January of this year, affected applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay; Balkan nations such as Bosnia and Albania; South Asian countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh; and many nations in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Source: Qatar Tribune