Key facts
- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume processing asylum claims.
A U.S. District Judge has ordered the Trump administration to restart processing asylum claims and other immigration benefit requests for nationals from 39 countries. The judge ruled that the policies, which had placed immigrants in legal limbo based on their country of origin, violated federal law.
The ruling directly impacts the immigration policies of the Trump administration, potentially altering the processing of asylum and other benefits for thousands of individuals and signaling a judicial check on executive actions related to national security and immigration.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr., appointed by former President Barack Obama, has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the processing of asylum claims and other immigration benefits for nationals of 39 countries. The judge, based in Rhode Island, found that the policies implemented by the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS violated federal immigration and administrative laws. McConnell stated that the policies, enacted in late 2025, created indeterminate legal limbo for immigrants based solely on their country of origin and were justified by pretextual national security concerns masking anti-immigrant sentiments. The ruling vacated these policies, including one that required agency workers to consider a person's home country as a negative factor in benefit decisions, and another that reviewed past immigration benefit grants for individuals from countries subject to Trump's travel ban. The Department of Homeland Security expressed disagreement with the ruling, with its general counsel characterizing such legal challenges as 'sabotage dressed in legal clothing.' Plaintiffs, including the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, welcomed the decision, emphasizing the importance of the rule of law and the relief it provides to impacted immigrants.