A federal judge ruled on Thursday that the State Department can’t deny visas to foreign nationals on the basis of the travel ban that President Donald Trump imposed on 19 countries in June.
Although the State Department is limited in this regard, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan for the District of Columbia determined that federal immigration authorities could still turn away foreign citizens at ports of entry or instruct airline officials to deny boarding. Foreigners can be denied entry into the United States, even though they may be eligible for visas.
The Biden-appointed judge questioned the law that Trump invoked to justify the travel ban, saying it doesn’t give the State Department authority to reject visas.
“That provision authorizes the President, subject to specified limitations, to ‘suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate,’” Sooknanan wrote, referencing 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) that Trump used to authorize the travel ban. “Plain as day, Subsection 1182(f) addresses only the question of entry, not the issuance of visas.”
A State Department spokesman condemned the ruling as “judicial overreach.”
“Another example of wrongful judicial overreach aimed at curtailing this Administration’s strong and unwavering efforts to keep Americans and our communities safe. We will continue to relentlessly work to ensure the President of the United States is able to use every tool he has available, including visas, to finally bring oversight to who we allow to visit our country,” spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
