Trump suffers another court defeat as visa ban for 75 countries declared unconstitutional

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has struck down the Trump administration’s measure halting the issuance of visas to immigrants from 75 countries. According to the ruling, reported by CNN, the ban was “unconstitutional” and exceeded the legal authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The State Department imposed the suspension in January, affecting nearly 40% of the world’s countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia. The department justified the measure as a way to prevent the entry of people who “receive social assistance and public benefits in the United States.”

U.S. legislation allows a visa to be denied to an immigrant only when they are deemed a “public charge.” To reach that conclusion, a consular officer must assess the applicant’s finances, age, health, skills and family circumstances.

However, Judge Janet Vargas found that U.S. officials had, in practice, been instructed to reject applications based solely on the applicants’ country of origin, including cases involving people who were capable of supporting themselves.

The court file also included a cable Rubio had sent to all diplomatic and consular missions. Through it, officials were instructed not to approve applicants even if someone “provides evidence that overcomes the public-charge finding.”

“The outcome was predetermined,” Vargas said. She found that this approach violated the 1965 law prohibiting discrimination based on nationality in the issuance of visas. She also said that the provision barring the secretary of state from influencing the handling of individual cases by consular officers had been violated.

The measure had frozen immigrant visas for people seeking to reunite with family members or start work in the United States. It did not include nonimmigrant visas, such as tourist and student visas.