US Federal Court Blocks Trump-Era Immigration Bans for 39 Nations

A US federal court ruled that the immigration restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on lawful immigration were unlawful. Judge John McConnell, appointed by President Barack Obama, held that the bans applied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to citizens of 39 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East violated the law.

The restrictions, enacted after a November attack in Washington by an Afghan national that killed a Capitol Police officer, halted green‑card issuance, asylum processing and work‑permit extensions for applicants from the targeted nations. The court found that the policy arbitrarily denied applications based solely on applicants' country of birth, despite them having complied with all congressional requirements. The decision follows a March lawsuit filed by a coalition of immigrant and labor groups challenging the USCIS bans.

The ruling restores the ability of affected migrants to have their immigration petitions reviewed normally, overturning the previous Trump‑era policy that had placed tens of thousands of applications in legal limbo.