Back in January, as border crossings dropped to near-unbelievable and infinitesimal numbers considering what they had been merely 12 months before, the Trump administration was already on the hunt, looking for the next way to tighten up on illegal aliens in the country.
One obvious starting point was visa overstays. There are any number of countries whose citizens routinely overstay their visas, and once those numbers started coming in, Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved quickly to shut that pipeline down in the interest of the 'public charge' - identifying countries of origin whose arrivals swiftly and routinely wind up on public benefits.
He announced they were indefinitely suspending visa processing (for jobs and family, not student and tourist) from 75 countries, which officially began on January 21, until the State Department could put more stringent vetting processes in place to ensure the newer, stricter rules were followed. Some of the countries were already on the outright banned list.
The United States is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries in another expansion of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
The pause in processing will apply to countries including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and Russia. The suspension applies to immigrant visas, such as those for employment or to join family in the US. The pause does not apply to non-immigrant visas like student and tourist visas, and as such would not apply for those seeking to travel to the World Cup in the US this summer.
The pause will begin on January 21, a US official said.
The suspension comes after the State Department last year directed increased scrutiny under the “public charge” provision of immigration law meant to target those who the Trump administration believes will become a strain on public resources.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement Wednesday.
“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he said.
THEY CAN'T DO THAT!
The well-established immigration industry in the United States went into overdrive at the announcement, and among others, one of the most notorious was part of a filed lawsuit - Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
...The lawsuit was brought by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); African Communities Together (ACT), a Harlem-based immigrant advocacy group; five prospective employment-based immigrants; and six U.S. citizens seeking to bring family members to the country.
As this has wound its way through the court system, the State Department has kept the pressure up on visa holders already within the US. They've revoked some 175,000, according to SecState.
JUST IN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio Announces the Trump Administration has REVOKED 175,000 Visas.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 10, 2026
Keep foreign nationals who hate America out of this country.
More of this. pic.twitter.com/tApqx8FQ8E
As of this past Friday, a Manhattan judge decided that the State Department didn't have the authority to stop someone from getting a visa simply because of their country of origin, and she struck down Rubio's program as discriminatory.
🚨 A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration's suspension of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries, ruling the State Department policy violates federal immigration law and exceeds Secretary Marco Rubio's authority. pic.twitter.com/GPRez33uI6
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 22, 2026
Judge Jeannette Vargas said Rubio was acting outside his lane because the visa's outcome was 'predetermined.'
...Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Federal District Court in Manhattan took issue with the State Department’s rationale for the policy, reversing any visa denial based solely on it – in another setback to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Under the law, an immigrant can only be turned away as a likely “public charge” (someone expected to depend on government support) after a consular officer weighs that person’s own finances, age, health, skills and family situation.
Judge Vargas found that, in practice, US officers were ordered to reject visas for applicants, even those who could support themselves, solely based on the country they came from.
The visa ban halted permanent-residence visas for people joining family members or taking jobs in the US, but did not apply to nonimmigrant visas such as tourist or student visas.
A cable that Rubio sent to every diplomatic and consular post, and which was entered into the case record, directed officers to refuse applicants even when someone “provides additional evidence that demonstrates he or she overcomes the public charge refusal.”
“The outcome is predetermined,” Vargas wrote. “The visa will be refused.” The policy, she said, ran afoul of a 1965 law barring discrimination by nationality in granting visas, and of a separate provision denying the secretary of state any say over how consular officers decide individual cases.
Judge Vargas sprinkled in the adjectives you would expect from a Biden-appointed jurist.
...The Trump administration argued the refusals were lawful because officers formally issued them under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an existing provision governing visa refusals. Vargas rejected that rationale, saying the government had failed to identify a law allowing an officer to deny a visa to an applicant already found eligible.
"The Government engages in what is best described as an exercise in Orwellian logic," Vargas wrote.
She found the policy violated the INA’s bar on nationality-based discrimination in immigrant-visa issuance, as well as provisions allowing visa refusals only when an applicant is legally ineligible. The administration’s approach, she wrote, drew "pernicious distinctions based upon nationality."
Judge Vargas gave the government until September 11 to resolve the remaining issues in the case, and the government can appeal her decision.
Her order also doesn't impact any visas denied for other legitimate reasons - just those under the blanket policy - and it doesn't have any other effect on the forward-going immigration push to remove the illegal aliens and visa overstays here.
Thoughts on the morning drive ..... Did a federal court just stop the fight against illegal immigration?
— US Attorney NDAL (@NDALnews) August 24, 2026
The short answer is "no".
A US District Court Judge in Manhattan just ruled against the Trump Adminstrations efforts to slow the number of visas issued to people coming from… pic.twitter.com/oltSA11nNX
A US District Court Judge in Manhattan just ruled against the Trump Adminstrations efforts to slow the number of visas issued to people coming from impoverished nations. The Judge said that Sec. State Rubio had exceeded his authority by issuing an order that the Consular officials in 75 Nations around the world could not issue visas. The concern on the part of the administration was that those 75 Nations represented the sources of many people who would come here and immediately go on public benefits as opposed to being self-sufficient productive members of society.
The judge went on to say that Secretary Rubio's actions were Orwellian. The administration is surely going to appeal.
But let's talk about what this ruling does not mean. First of all it does not mean that everyone from those 75 Nations will automatically get visas. They still have to individually go through the application and review process. Any number of reasons can stop them from being granted a visa.....to include an inability to support themselves.
But it is also important to note that this is not related to the fight against illegal immigration. People who are here illegally were never a part of the Visa process in the first place. That is a separate and distinct category. So we will keep doing what we do in a daily fight under Project Take Back America to deal with the massive invasion of illegal aliens that occurred during the Biden era. The mission continues.
The other thing cases like this are doing is exposing to the public eye who the enemy combatant non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are that are actively fighting legal immigration enforcement efforts to remove the illegals that these NGOs were paid so handsomely - up until the Trump administration took office - to flood the country with.
Digging in a little bit, as I tend to like to do when things piss me off, I had a question about this Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). They are fighting tooth and nail for illegals. Taking the government to court over enforcement. Providing illegal aliens, border jumpers, and those who use precious resources the American people pay for and need themselves with legal assistance to defend themselves against the government.
Promoting the Dignity of Immigrants With Affordable Legal Expertise
As it has for more than 30 years, CLINIC will fight for the rights of immigrants. CLINIC trains legal representatives who provide high-quality and affordable immigration legal services. We develop and sustain a network of nonprofit programs that serve over 500,000 immigrants every year. We cultivate projects that support and defend vulnerable immigrant populations by:
- Providing direct representation for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border and educating them about their rights;
- Reuniting formerly separated families;
- Increasing legal representation for those in removal proceedings and in detention;
- Providing public education on immigration law and policies; and
- Advocating for fair and just immigration policies that acknowledge the inherent dignity and value of all people.
History has taught us that people who step up can make a difference. We hope you will join us.
God knows what else - I didn't go through the whole website. But you know what I did see, and then I saw red? All of this money is being spent defending people who broke United States laws, are living here illegally, may have committed more crimes against American citizens, and every suit against the government burns our tax dollars.
And they get COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN charity contribution dollars?
VURT DA FURK?!
You have got to be kidding me.
There aren't enough 'hells' on Earth to put in my 'oh, no' about that.
They need to be doing all that on their own dime.
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