Key facts
- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restart processing asylum claims.
- The administration must also resume adjudicating requests for immigration benefits from nationals of 39 countries.
- The ruling vacated policies that restricted these processes, deeming them illegal and arbitrary.
- The policies were implemented in late 2025 following a shooting near the White House.
- A coalition of groups filed a lawsuit alleging the policies violated federal law and constitutional protections.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr., appointed by President Obama, has ordered the Trump administration to resume processing asylum claims and requests for immigration benefits, such as work permits, for nationals of 39 countries. The administration had restricted these processes in late 2025, citing security concerns following a shooting incident. A coalition of groups, including the Service Employees International Union and the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, filed a lawsuit arguing that the policies violated federal law, exceeded USCIS authority, and were arbitrary and capricious. Judge McConnell, in a 135-page decision, stated that the policies threw immigrants' lives into "indeterminate legal limbo" based solely on their country of birth. He found that USCIS violated federal laws by acting without adequate explanation, claiming authority it did not possess, and masking anti-immigrant sentiments with pretextual national security concerns. The ruling vacated these policies as illegal and set them aside, along with two other USCIS policies that involved reviewing past immigration benefit grants and considering a person's home country as a negative factor.