Key facts
- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume processing asylum claims.
- The ruling also requires the adjudication of immigration benefit requests from nationals of 39 restricted countries.
- U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. stated the policies violated federal laws and were arbitrary and capricious.
- The judge vacated the challenged policies, citing inadequate explanations and pretextual national security concerns.
- The Department of Homeland Security and USCIS disagreed with the ruling.
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.