State Department calls judge ‘rogue’ after immigrant visa freeze ruling

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department tore into the “rogue judge” who overturned its freeze on immigrant visas from 75 countries after she blasted the administration’s legal rationale as “an exercise in Orwellian logic.”

“American taxpayer-funded public benefits belong to Americans,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. “President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient to protect these public benefits for American citizens.”

“This rogue judge’s misguided opinion wrongfully undermines the longstanding legal authority of the Secretary of State. We will keep fighting for commonsense visa policies that put America First.”

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled Friday that the State Department could not force consular officers to deny immigrant visas to otherwise eligible applicants solely because they are nationals of one of the 75 countries covered by the policy.

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Vargas, a Biden appointee who joined the Southern District of New York bench in November 2024, previously spent more than two decades as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale, then clerked for future Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the Second Circuit.

Earlier this year, Vargas temporarily blocked Department of Government Efficiency personnel from accessing sensitive Treasury payment systems, citing privacy and cybersecurity concerns. But she later narrowed that order and allowed vetted and trained DOGE employees to access the systems.

Vargas found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive required officers to deny visas even after determining an applicant was not barred under any existing provision of immigration law. She vacated the policy and visa refusals based solely on the directive, sending those cases back for further consideration.

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The Immigration and Nationality Act allows consular officers to deny immigrant visas to applicants they determine are likely to become a “public charge,” meaning dependent on government assistance. Consular officers are supposed to make that assessment on an individual basis.

The Trump administration has revived a more expansive approach to that screening, directing officers to weigh factors including an applicant’s age, health, finances, English proficiency and potential need for long-term medical care.

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But Vargas found that the State Department went beyond that individualized review when it directed officers to refuse immigrant visas to otherwise eligible applicants from the 75 countries simply because of their nationality.

Fox News Digital first reported in January that the State Department would pause immigrant visa issuances to citizens of 75 countries, including Somalia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia and Iran, while it reassessed screening procedures meant to identify applicants likely to become a public charge.

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The policy did not apply to tourist or other nonimmigrant visas. Affected applicants could still submit applications and attend interviews, but consular officers were directed to refuse immigrant visas under the pause.

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The ruling does not require the State Department to issue visas to any particular applicant. Consular officers may still deny a visa based on an individualized public-charge finding or another statutory ground of inadmissibility.