Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump's 75-Country Visa Suspension

A federal judge in New York on Friday struck down the Trump administration's policy suspending immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, ruling the State Department's guidance was unlawful and exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas issued a 61-page ruling in the Southern District of New York, finding the policy implemented in January 2026 violated federal immigration law. The judge wrote that the policy, which categorically prohibited visa issuance based on nationality, represented a "direct abrogation" of a statutory scheme that requires individualized assessments of whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge. She noted the law explicitly strips the secretary of state of authority over consular officers' adjudication of immigrant visas.

The suspension affected applicants from numerous nations across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Balkans. The State Department had justified the policy by stating these applicants were at high risk of becoming a public charge and relying on government resources. However, Judge Vargas found evidence that U.S. officials...