A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration policy enacted after the shooting of two National Guard members that made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to stay and enter the U.S. Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down a series of Trump administration policies that had effectively halted the processing of immigration applications for individuals from 39 countries. The ruling opens the door for hundreds of thousands of pending cases to resume adjudication immediately.
What changed
Judge McConnell ruled that “each of the Challenged Policies that USCIS enacted—the Benefits Hold Policy, the Global Asylum Hold Policy, the Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, and the Country-Specific Factors Policy—are declared unlawful and are vacated.” The policies enacted after the National Guard shooting last year meant that immigrants from 39 African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries have been “categorically barred” from receiving final decisions on, among other things, their asylum, work permit, green card, and citizenship applications.
Affected countries included Iran, Nigeria, Venezuela and Afghanistan. The 135-page ruling opens the door for hundreds of thousands of people with pending immigration-related applications to have these benefits unpaused.
The court found that USCIS lacked statutory authority to enact the policies, failed to provide reasoned explanations for its actions, and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. These immigrants were following the rules, McConnell wrote, but were nonetheless unlawfully targeted by the government because of where they came from.
Why it matters
If you represent a client from one of the 39 affected countries whose asylum application, I-131 (work authorization), I-485 (green card), I-730 (refugee/asylee relative petition), N-400 (naturalization), or other benefit application has been in processing limbo since the policies took effect, this ruling clears the path to resume adjudication immediately.
Many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures. Last year’s USCIS rule changes led to the widespread cancellation of naturalization ceremonies for affected immigrants on the brink of getting their citizenship. Those ceremonies will now be rescheduled, thanks to McConnell’s ruling.
USCIS officers are now bound by this order to process these cases on the merits. Pending Requests for Evidence, Interview Notices, and case decisions should resume without further delay. Practitioners should expect to see activity on long-frozen cases within weeks, though case-by-case delays may persist during the transition.
Way forward
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Audit your pending inventory. Identify all clients with applications filed by someone from the 39 affected countries. Check USCIS status online and prepare to engage with cases that have been frozen.
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Monitor for USCIS guidance. USCIS may issue a Policy Alert or memo clarifying how field offices should handle cases on hold. Check the USCIS newsroom and your local field office for notices. Do not assume local offices have implemented the order instantly.
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Anticipate appeals. The government may choose to challenge the decision. The government can appeal the opinion to the First Circuit, though that liberal-leaning circuit has been historically unkind to Trump’s immigration agenda. File and adjudicate conservatively, and be prepared for potential reversals on appeal.
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Follow up proactively. File follow-up letters or FOIA requests if a case remains inactive 60 days after this ruling. Document all delays in writing for your file.
Disclaimer
Fola Editorial is a software company, not a law firm, and this article does not constitute legal advice. Do not rely on this summary as a substitute for reading the full ruling or consulting with a licensed immigration attorney. Immigration policy can change without notice; verify all information against the primary source linked above and the most current USCIS guidance before advising clients or filing applications.