A United States federal court in Manhattan has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the processing and issuance of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, including Nigeria.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled on Friday that the policy exceeded the legal authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conflicted with federal immigration law.
The policy, introduced by the State Department and effective from January 21, stopped the issuance of immigrant visas to citizens of the affected countries on the grounds that they were considered at high risk of becoming dependent on government welfare.
Judge Vargas, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, ruled that the government could not impose a blanket suspension based solely on the nationality of visa applicants.
She said the policy conflicted with the statutory framework governing immigrant visa processing and unlawfully restricted the role assigned to consular authorities.
The case was brought by immigrant rights organisations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, as well as US citizens sponsoring relatives and visa applicants from some of the affected countries.
The State Department had instructed US missions to suspend the processing of affected immigrant visas, including applications that had already been authorised for printing but had not yet been printed.
The department defended the measure as part of a wider review of immigration procedures designed to strengthen screening and prevent immigrants from becoming dependent on public assistance.
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The administration had argued that applicants from the affected countries posed a higher risk of becoming a public charge and placing additional pressure on US welfare programmes.
However, Judge Vargas rejected the legal basis for the blanket restriction, finding that the Secretary of State did not have the authority to impose such a nationality-based suspension in the manner adopted.
The countries affected by the policy included Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nepal, Russia, Rwanda, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Venezuela and several others.
The full list comprises 75 countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Trump administration had linked the policy to concerns over immigrants relying on public assistance. Trump had previously cited government data on welfare use among immigrant households, including a claim that about 33.3 per cent of Nigerian immigrant households received some form of public assistance.
The State Department’s position was that the suspension would allow the government to reassess immigration procedures and prevent the admission of applicants likely to depend on US welfare programmes.
The court ruling now blocks that blanket approach, providing relief for prospective immigrants from Nigeria and the other affected countries.
The decision could have implications for thousands of family-based immigrant visa applicants whose applications were affected by the suspension.
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