Yesterday Friday, the visa ban imposed by the Trump administration on immigrants from 75 countries was overturned by a federal judge, who ruled that the measure was “against the law,” and exceeded the legal authority of Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Last January, the United States froze visa processing for 75 countries, including Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia, on the grounds that it would prevent the entry of people who would receive public benefits and become a financial burden for Americans.
In this regard, Judge Jeannette Vargas, of the Manhattan Federal District Court, questioned the Department of State’s reasons for this policy, thus denying any visa ban made for this reason.
According to the New York Times, in her 61-page ruling Judge Vargas questioned the government’s justification for the policy, pointing out that U.S. officials were denying visas to immigrants who were likely self-sufficient, violating a law that requires individualized assessments.
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For this, one of the pieces of evidence in the case was an internal cable from the Department of State, where consular officials were instructed to deny visas even when applicants presented “additional evidence” showing they exceeded the denial for being considered a public charge.
With Judge Vargas’s ruling, any visa denial based solely on the policy that came into effect in January is revoked, so it is possible that thousands of visa applications from that period until now will need to be reviewed.
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