A federal judge has struck down a series of immigration policies introduced under President Donald Trump’s administration, ruling that they unlawfully prevented thousands of people from receiving decisions on applications for asylum, work permits, green cards and U.S. citizenship.
Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell ruled that the policies adopted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) left applicants from 39 countries trapped in what he described as an “indeterminate legal limbo.”
According to the ruling, affected individuals had followed all legal immigration procedures established by Congress and federal regulations, yet many found their applications frozen for months without decisions.
The judge concluded that USCIS lacked the legal authority to implement the policies and said the agency improperly allowed anti-immigrant sentiment to influence its decision-making process.
“USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth,” McConnell wrote in his decision.
The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of immigrant advocacy groups and labor unions, which challenged the policy earlier this year. The organizations argued that the government had effectively shut down lawful immigration pathways for individuals from specific countries without proper legal justification.
The challenged policies were introduced as part of a broader immigration crackdown following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors allege the attack was carried out by an Afghan immigrant, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In response to that incident, the Trump administration expanded travel restrictions and imposed full or partial bans on 39 countries. Nations affected included Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela and Syria. Administration officials argued that the measures were necessary for national security and improved vetting procedures.
However, Judge McConnell found that USCIS went further by freezing immigration benefit applications from people born in those countries, regardless of their individual circumstances.
The ruling states that countless immigrants had their lives placed on hold solely because of their country of birth, preventing them from obtaining legal status, work authorization, permanent residency or citizenship decisions.
Immigration advocates welcomed the decision, arguing that the federal government cannot discriminate against applicants based on nationality when they are following lawful immigration processes.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet publicly commented on the ruling. The administration is expected to consider its legal options, including a possible appeal.
The decision represents a significant setback for one of the administration’s most aggressive immigration policies and could allow thousands of affected applicants to finally receive decisions on long-delayed immigration cases.
