A United States District Court in Manhattan has struck down the Trump administration’s policy suspending the processing and issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, including Nigeria.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas described the January directive by the State Department as unlawful, ruling that it exceeded the statutory authority of U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The policy, which took effect on January 21, suspended immigrant visa issuance to nationals of the affected countries on the grounds that they were considered at high risk of becoming a “public charge” by relying on U.S. government cash assistance.
The affected countries include Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia and Yemen, among others.
The Trump administration had cited welfare dependency among immigrants as part of its justification for the policy. President Donald Trump had earlier highlighted welfare-use rates among immigrant households, including a figure of about 33.3 per cent for Nigerian immigrant households receiving some form of public assistance.
The directive also instructed consular officials to consider applicants who could potentially become dependent on government assistance, with concerns raised over factors including age, health and previous use of certain public benefits.
However, Judge Vargas, a former President Joe Biden appointee, ruled that the suspension conflicted with federal immigration law and unlawfully interfered with the statutory framework governing immigrant visa processing.
She held that the policy’s categorical prohibition of immigrant visa issuance based on the nationality of applicants represented a direct departure from the legal scheme established by Congress.
The lawsuit was brought by immigrant rights groups, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, alongside U.S. citizens sponsoring family members and visa applicants from affected countries.
The State Department had earlier directed U.S. missions to refuse applicants whose visas had been authorised for printing but had not yet been printed. It said the suspension was part of a broader review aimed at strengthening screening and vetting and preventing foreign nationals from exploiting U.S. welfare systems.
The department had defended the measure, arguing that applicants from the affected countries were considered at high risk of becoming a public charge and placing pressure on local, state and federal government resources.
The court ruling represents a significant setback for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has sought to tighten immigration controls, strengthen screening and reduce what the administration considers potential abuse of the U.S. welfare system.
For Nigerians and other affected applicants, the ruling could reopen an important pathway for immigrant visa processing that had been disrupted by the January suspension.
