• Court declares blanket nationality-based restriction “patently unlawful,” says Secretary of State exceeded statutory powers
A United States federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to Nigerians and citizens of 74 other countries, ruling that the sweeping nationality-based restriction was unlawful.
Judge Jeannette Vargas of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York delivered the ruling on Friday, holding that the Secretary of State exceeded the authority granted under American immigration law by imposing a blanket prohibition on immigrant visas based solely on an applicant’s nationality.
The policy, which took effect in January 2026, affected intending immigrants from countries across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.
Nigeria was among the countries covered by the suspension, alongside Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Bosnia, Albania, Pakistan and Bangladesh, among dozens of others.
In her decision, Vargas held that the statutory framework governing immigration did not empower the Secretary of State to categorically deny immigrant visas to nationals of designated countries.
“The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” the judge wrote.
Vargas went further, describing the policy as “patently unlawful” and ruling in favour of immigrant rights organisations and individuals who had challenged the restriction.
The Trump administration had defended the suspension on the grounds that applicants from the affected countries were considered more likely to become financially dependent on government resources after entering the United States.
But the policy was challenged by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, together with individual visa applicants and American citizens seeking to bring relatives from affected countries into the United States.
The plaintiffs argued that the administration had effectively created a nationality-based immigrant visa ban without the legal authority to do so.
Vargas agreed, finding that the Secretary of State lacked statutory authority to introduce such a sweeping restriction and could not override the immigration framework established by Congress through an across-the-board nationality prohibition.
The ruling represents a significant legal setback for one of the Trump administration’s immigration measures and potentially reopens the immigrant visa process for Nigerians and thousands of other applicants affected by the suspension.
The immigrant visa policy was separate from broader travel restrictions imposed by the administration on citizens of several countries. It was also distinct from a pause in the issuance of diversity visas introduced in late December.
The court’s decision adds to continuing legal battles over the Trump administration’s efforts to tighten entry into the United States, particularly measures challenged on the grounds that the executive branch has exceeded powers granted to it under existing immigration laws.
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