A federal court in the United States has scrapped the Trump administration’s policy of suspending issuing migrant visas to citizens of 75 countries, including Bangladesh.
The court said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had crossed the limits of his power in enforcing the policy.
U.S. District Judge Janet Vargas said the U.S. State Department’s suspension of visas in January was “obviously illegal” and contradicted federal immigration laws.
According to the court’s observations, the foreign minister does not have the power to virtually stop the migrant visa process of citizens of any country on the basis of nationality. As a result, the policy of the State Department is directly in conflict with the framework of the existing immigration law.
applicants from many countries, including Bangladesh, have been affected
Under the policy that came into effect from January, migrant visa applications for citizens of the Balkans, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, Latin American countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, and Bosnia and Albanian, were suspended. Applicants from many other countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean are also included.
The Trump administration argues that immigrants from these countries are more at risk of becoming dependent on government assistance in the United States and putting additional pressure on local, state and federal government resources.
However, the court did not take this argument as a sufficient basis for the legalization of the policy.
The Court’s decision after the case
The ruling came in the wake of a lawsuit filed by several organizations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and the African Community Tugedar, who worked on the rights of migrants, and family members of the affected visa applicants and the families of citizens living in the United States.
Judge Janet Vargas was appointed by former President Joe Biden.
The U.S. State Department asked for comment on the court’s ruling but there was no immediate response.
President Donald Trump’s administration has continued to maintain tougher policies as part of a strengthening of immigration control and internal security. However, organizations working on the rights of migrants have criticized the move, saying it raises new concerns about discrimination, legal rights and human rights.