Federal Judge Blocks Key Immigration Policies from Trump Era

A federal judge has blocked significant immigration policies from the Trump administration that had previously frozen decisions on green cards, asylum, and work permits. U.S. District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former President Barack Obama, determined that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) directives following the November 2025 National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C., were likely unlawful. These policies had stalled asylum decisions and imposed indefinite holds on immigration benefit applications for people from several designated countries.

Judge’s Ruling Highlights

Judge McConnell noted that the policies violated the immigration laws that Congress empowered the agency to administer and the administrative laws governing USCIS actions. His ruling is seen as a setback for efforts to extend travel restrictions into the processing of applications for individuals already within the United States, including green card applicants.

James Percival, Department of Homeland Security’s General Council, criticized the ruling in a Newsweek statement, expressing concern over the legal challenges known as ‘animus’ claims since 2017. He claimed that these challenges were merely dressed as legal objections without genuine district court motivation.

Key Incidents in the USCIS Pause Ruling

The judge stated that the USCIS lacked statutory authority to pause case adjudications and failed to justify the policy changes with substantial evidence. Applicants’ reliance on the adjudication process was neglected, and the reasoning appeared to be a pretext rather than based on legitimate national security justifications.

The 135-page ruling nullified four policies from the Trump administration, including halts on asylum applications, work permits, green cards, and naturalizations. The judge also canceled the country-specific ban that mandated officers to consider certain nationalities riskier.

The USCIS implemented these policies in response to White House directives.

“Today is a good day. On behalf of the thousands of immigrants we serve, we are grateful to Judge McConnell for his ruling,” said Milagro Sique, CEO of Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, emphasizing that these policies led to unnecessary fear and uncertainty for many.

Who Benefits from the Ruling?

The ruling primarily impacts nationals from the 39 countries previously under the Trump administration’s travel ban, aimed at preventing new arrivals. Many immigrants had applications from people already in the U.S. halted by USCIS.

The ruling benefits asylum applicants, workers depending on employment authorization, green card applicants, and citizenship applicants. Many faced job loss due to expired work permits, unlawful status, and family separations.

USCIS’s Next Steps

Judge McConnell instructed USCIS to resume processing applications for all affected by the pause. The agency must not generalize security risks based on nationality. The ruling does not ensure approval of cases, only that they will be reviewed and processed.