US Federal Court Judge Strikes Down Trump Immigration Policies Targeting Applicants from 39 Countries

A federal judge has ruled that the administration of US President Donald Trump unlawfully adopted a series of policies that prevented people from 39 countries from receiving decisions on applications for asylum, work permits, green cards and citizenship.

Chief US District Judge John McConnell, sitting in Providence, Rhode Island, struck down a range of policies implemented by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), finding that they left applicants from dozens of African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries in what he described as “indeterminate legal limbo”.

McConnell said the affected immigrants had complied with the legal processes established by Congress and implemented through USCIS regulations, yet many had been left waiting for months while the agency failed to adjudicate their applications.

The judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, found that USCIS had introduced the policies without the necessary statutory or regulatory authority. He further held that the measures were influenced by anti-immigrant sentiment, which the agency was prohibited from allowing to affect its decision-making.

“USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely from the happenstance of their birth,” McConnell wrote in his ruling.

The decision marks a significant victory for a coalition of immigrant service organisations and labour unions, which filed a lawsuit in March challenging the USCIS policies. The agency forms part of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Welcoming the ruling, Skye Perryman, president and chief executive of Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs, said the judgment reaffirmed the principle that the federal government cannot close lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against individuals based on their nationality.

The DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The disputed policies formed part of a broader immigration crackdown launched by the Trump administration following the November shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC. Prosecutors allege the attack was carried out by an Afghan immigrant, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who has pleaded not guilty.

In the aftermath of the incident, Trump pledged on social media to “permanently pause migration” from developing nations while the US immigration system recovered. His administration subsequently expanded full or partial travel bans to cover 39 countries. Nations subject to the restrictions included Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela and Syria, with the administration citing security and vetting concerns as justification.

According to the court, USCIS policies effectively froze the processing of immigration benefit applications from nationals of those countries. McConnell said the measures placed the lives of countless individuals on hold solely because of their countries of origin.

In a strongly worded judgment, the judge said the rule of law must apply equally to all. He concluded that USCIS had failed to follow the law and had breached both immigration statutes and the administrative rules governing federal agencies.

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