Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on August 7, 2026 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]
A federal judge in the United States has blocked a Trump administration policy that halted immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, ruling that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had exceeded the authority granted to him by Congress.
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In a Friday decision issued in Manhattan federal court, Judge Jeannette Vargas said the policy was “patently unlawful” and incompatible with federal immigration law. That law, she said, expressly removes the secretary of state’s power to direct consular officers in their decisions on immigrant visa applications.
“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” she wrote.
Vargas, who was appointed by Democratic former President Joe Biden, ruled in a case brought by the immigrant rights organisations Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together. The plaintiffs also included visa applicants and US citizens seeking to sponsor relatives from countries covered by the policy.
The suspension began in January of this year and applied to applicants from countries including Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America; Bosnia and Albania in the Balkans; and Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia. Numerous countries across Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean were also included.
The Department of State defended the measure by saying applicants from the affected countries posed “a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the United States”.
Trump has made an expansive immigration crackdown a central feature of his presidency, arguing that the measures are necessary to strengthen domestic security. The Center for Constitutional Rights said the visa freeze was among several restrictions introduced by the administration in quick succession. Those actions followed a broader travel ban covering 39 countries that began on January 1, as well as a pause in diversity visa issuance in late December.
Immigrant rights organisations have argued that the administration’s policies infringe on free speech and due process protections. Minority communities, in particular, have voiced concerns that the measures could encourage racial profiling.
The State Department had not commented on the ruling.
