New york: A US federal judge has overturned a policy implemented by the Trump administration that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, ruling that the decision exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s legal authority. Manhattan District Court Judge Janet Vargas stated that the policy announced by the State Department in January was “clearly unlawful” and violated federal immigration law, which explicitly removed the Secretary of State’s authority to intervene in procedures related to consular personnel and immigrant visas.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Vargas stated in her ruling that the policy, which blanketly prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based on the applicant’s nationality, “represents a direct repeal of this legal system.” The visa suspension, which took effect in January, affected applicants from Latin American countries, including Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay; Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania; as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and several countries in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

The State Department justified the decision by arguing that citizens of these countries were “highly likely to become a burden on the state” and to rely on the resources of local, state, and federal governments in the United States. The department has not yet commented on the ruling. Vargas, appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, made her decision in response to a lawsuit filed by the Catholic Immigration Legal Network and African Communities Together, along with several immigrant visa applicants and U.S. citizens sponsoring family members in the affected countries.

The Trump administration has adopted a hardline immigration policy, which it says aims to strengthen internal security, while human rights groups accuse the administration of violating freedom of expression and due process guarantees, and creating an unsafe environment, especially for ethnic minorities who have expressed concerns about discrimination.