A federal judge has just thrown out a sweeping Trump-era ban that blocked immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, slamming the policy as illegal discrimination based solely on nationality. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas, in the Southern District of New York, ruled Friday that the ban violated federal immigration law, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which prohibits discriminating against visa applicants because of where they’re from.
The State Department had put the kibosh on immigrant visas for citizens of places like Afghanistan, Brazil, and Yemen earlier this year. The official line from the Trump administration was that people from these nations were likely to need public assistance if they came to the U.S. This was despite consular officers already assessing applicants on a case-by-case basis and finding them likely to be self-sufficient.
Vargas cited a U.S. diplomatic cable that instructed consulates to refuse immigrant visas to applicants who had already been approved but whose printed visas hadn't left the consulate.
The judge declared the policy "contrary to law" and said it went beyond the authority of then-Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She didn't just stop there; Vargas vacated the entire visa ban and tossed out any visa denials that were solely based on this now-defunct policy.
When the ban was first announced, a State Department spokesperson defended it, saying the administration was "protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants." They added that the policy would "remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people." This was part of a larger push by the Trump administration to curb both legal and illegal immigration. Remember that executive order trying to end birthright citizenship for babies born to undocumented parents? Yeah, that one got shot down by the Supreme Court.
Lawyers from The Legal Aid Society, who represented some of the plaintiffs, are calling the ban "premised on a fiction." Susan Welber, a supervising attorney there, argued that the policy was based on "untruths and prejudices" and that fighting back against such policies leads to a more just immigration system.
The lawsuit wasn't just brought by organizations; it included six U.S. citizens trying to bring family members over and five individuals who had applied for employment-based visas. Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the suspension of visa processing "separated spouses, parents, and children who were simply following the legal immigration process."
With this ruling, lawyers for the plaintiffs say their clients can finally move forward with their immigration journeys. Antionette Dozier, a senior attorney for Western Center on Law & Poverty, stated that for families from these 75 countries, the decision means a return to "fair, case-by-case review, and a chance to be reunited with their loved ones." She emphasized that no administration should get to just decide that certain nationalities are unacceptable for immigration.