Key facts
- A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restart processing asylum claims.
- The ruling also mandates the resumption of adjudicating immigration benefit requests for nationals of 39 restricted countries.
- U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. stated the policies violated federal law by causing immigrants to be in legal limbo based on their country of birth.
- The judge found that USCIS made decisions without adequate explanation and acted with pretextual national security concerns masking anti-immigrant sentiments.
- The ruling vacated two USCIS policies, including one reviewing past immigration benefit grants and another that considered home country as a negative factor.
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the processing of asylum claims and other immigration benefits for nationals of 39 countries. The judge, appointed by President Obama, ruled that the policies implemented by the Department of Homeland Security and its USCIS division violated federal law. McConnell stated that the policies, enacted in late 2025, threw countless immigrants into legal limbo based solely on their country of birth, lacking adequate explanation and masking anti-immigrant sentiments with pretextual national security concerns. The ruling vacated these policies, including one that reviewed past immigration benefit grants and another that mandated considering a person's home country as a negative factor. The Department of Homeland Security disagreed with the ruling, with its general counsel calling such claims 'sabotage dressed in legal clothing.' Plaintiffs, including the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, welcomed the decision, stating it upholds the rule of law and allows impacted individuals to move forward.