A US federal judge on struck down the Trump administration’s policy suspending immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, ruling that the measure was “contrary to law” and exceeded the statutory authority of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CNN reported.
According to CNN, Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan issued the ruling on Friday, in another setback to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
The US State Department had paused the issuance of immigrant visas from nearly 40 per cent of the world’s countries in January, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia. The department had said the move was intended to prevent the entry of people who would “take welfare and public benefits”.
Vargas rejected the rationale behind the policy and ordered the reversal of visa denials that were based solely on the measure. According to CNN, under US law, an immigrant can be denied a visa as a potential “public charge”— meaning someone expected to depend on government assistance — only after a consular officer assesses the applicant’s individual circumstances, including finances, age, health, skills and family situation.
ANI
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