US judge voids visa suspension affecting immigrants from 75 nations
Why it matters: The ruling could reopen green-card processing for families from countries including Brazil, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
A federal judge in Manhattan struck down a Trump administration policy that had suspended immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, ruling that the State Department overstepped its legal authority. US District Judge Jeannette Vargas called the January policy “patently unlawful,” saying federal immigration law bars the secretary of state from controlling consular officers’ processing of immigrant visas in that way. The suspension affected applicants from countries across Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Immigrant rights groups, visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring relatives challenged the policy in court. The administration had justified the move by arguing applicants from the targeted countries were at high risk of becoming public charges.