U.S. Federal Judge Blocks Trump Immigration Freeze for 39 Countries

U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island issued a 135‑page decision striking down a suite of Trump‑administration policies that halted asylum processing and immigration‑benefit adjudication for nationals of 39 countries. The policies, enacted after a November 2025 shooting by an Afghan national that killed a National Guard member, were defended as a national‑security measure but the judge found them “arbitrary and capricious,” exceeding the authority of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and discriminating on the basis of birthplace. He ordered USCIS to immediately resume processing asylum claims, work‑permit applications, green‑card and citizenship petitions for the affected applicants. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed in March by a coalition of immigrant‑service groups and labor unions, which argued the freeze violated federal immigration law and administrative standards. DHS did not comment; the administration may appeal. The judge wrote the policies “threw the lives of countless immigrants … into indeterminate legal limbo.”