A federal judge in Manhattan has ruled that a Trump administration policy suspending immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries — including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Bosnia, and many African and Caribbean nations — is "patently unlawful." Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York found that the policy, introduced by the State Department in January, exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statutory authority, as federal immigration law explicitly bars the secretary from controlling consular officers' adjudication of immigrant visas. The ruling, secured through a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights groups and affected visa applicants, is a significant setback for the Trump administration's sweeping immigration crackdown, which rights groups argue has disproportionately harmed ethnic minorities and raised concerns about racial profiling.