Federal Judge Invalidates Trump Administration’s 75-Country Visa Freeze, Citing Lack of Legal Authority

A Manhattan federal judge on Friday invalidated the Trump administration’s freeze on immigrant visas from 75 nations, determining that Secretary of State Marco Rubio lacked statutory power to deny visas to applicants who otherwise qualified for admission to the United States. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, a Biden-appointed jurist, vacated the State Department directive and ordered the government to reconsider all visa refusals that rested solely on the policy.

The State Department imposed the restriction in January, suspending immigrant visa issuance to nationals of countries it classified as high-risk for public benefit dependency. The targeted nations span Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, encompassing roughly 40 percent of global countries. Consular officers received instructions to review each applicant individually, yet visas were rejected for citizens of the designated nations regardless of individual eligibility determinations.

Judge Vargas characterized the policy as predetermined in outcome, rendering individual assessments by consular officers meaningless. She found the directive violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s prohibition on nationality-based discrimination and exceeded Rubio’s authority under federal law. The judge criticized the government’s legal reasoning as “Orwellian logic,” stating that the administration failed to identify any statute permitting visa denials for applicants already deemed eligible.

The lawsuit was filed by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, African Communities Together, five prospective employment-based immigrants, and six U.S. citizens attempting to sponsor family members. The ruling preserves visa denials based on other independent grounds of ineligibility but eliminates refusals stemming exclusively from the 75-country restriction.