Judge Jeannette Vargas
Southern New York U.S. District Court
Jeannette Anne Vargas was born in 1973. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard College and her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. She clerked for then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Vargas served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in the Tax and Bankruptcy Unit. She then served as senior trial counsel and then deputy chief of the Civil Division.
President Joe Biden nominated Vargas in March 2024 to serve as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Senate confirmed her in September 2024 and she received her judicial commission in November 2024.
In the News…
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas vacated an immigration policy of President Trump’s administration that suspended visa processing from 75 countries from which applicants were deemed likely to require public assistance.
Judge Vargas determined that the State Department policy was “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority.“ She said that it “runs afoul“ of the Immigration and Nationality Act in which Congress empowered consular officers to make visa decisions.
“Congress imbued these officers with exclusive authority and discretion to determine if an immigrant is eligible for a visa based upon review of specific and detailed criteria set forth in the statute,” Judge Vargas wrote. “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Judge Vargas today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Jeannette Vargas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse
500 Pearl St.
New York, NY 10007
