Federal Judge Halts Trump-Era Immigration Restrictions

(MENAFN) A federal judge in Rhode Island has put a stop to several immigration measures introduced under the Trump administration that had limited access for many migrants in the United States to asylum protections, green cards, and other lawful immigration advantages.

In a detailed 135-page decision, Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island determined that the sweeping limits placed on lawful immigration benefits were “contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.”

One of the invalidated measures had halted immigration applications from individuals originating from 39 nations included in Trump’s travel ban. This action was justified by officials on national security grounds following an incident in which an Afghan asylum recipient was accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, DC.

These policies, which were rolled out late last year, effectively blocked the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from granting green cards, work authorization, citizenship, and other immigration-related benefits to citizens of the affected countries, most of which are located in Africa and Asia.

Additionally, the directives had initially suspended all asylum cases handled by USCIS regardless of applicants’ nationality. While the agency resumed most asylum processing in March, it continued to pause cases involving individuals from the 39 countries listed under the travel ban.

In his ruling, McConnell emphasized that the impacted immigrants “ filed the appropriate paperwork, paid the required filing fees, submitted to the requested biometrics collections, and attended the necessary in-person interviews.”

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