A US federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s policy suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including Nigeria.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York ruled on Friday that the policy, introduced by the State Department in January, was unlawful and exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The policy required consular officers to suspend immigrant visa issuance to applicants from the affected countries based largely on concerns that they could become dependent on public assistance in the United States.
However, Vargas ruled that the government could not impose a blanket visa restriction based solely on an applicant’s nationality. She found that the policy conflicted with the Immigration and Nationality Act and improperly interfered with consular officers’ authority to assess individual applications.
The suspension, which took effect on January 21, affected countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America, including Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, and Morocco.
The ruling sets aside visa denials based solely on the policy, although the Trump administration can appeal the decision.
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