A federal judge in Rhode Island has invalidated a series of policies implemented by the Trump administration that prevented individuals from 39 countries from receiving decisions on applications for asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship. The ruling, issued on Friday, June 5, by Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell, declared that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had acted unlawfully.
Judge Criticizes 'Indeterminate Legal Limbo'
Judge McConnell, appointed by former President Barack Obama, stated that the policies left people from numerous African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern nations in a state of uncertainty. He emphasized that these immigrants had followed all legal processes established by Congress and USCIS regulations, yet were left waiting for months without adjudication of their benefit requests.
The judge noted that the agency's actions were based on "anti-immigrant sentiments" and lacked statutory and regulatory authority. He wrote, "USCIS's hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth."
Victory for Immigrant Advocacy Groups
The ruling was a significant win for a coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions that filed a lawsuit in March challenging the USCIS policies. Skye Perryman, president of the liberal legal group Democracy Forward, which represented the plaintiffs, stated, "This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: the federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from."
Background of the Policies
The USCIS policies were part of an intensified immigration crackdown following the November shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., allegedly carried out by an Afghan immigrant, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who has pleaded not guilty. In response, President Trump vowed on social media to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries" and expanded travel bans to cover 39 nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela, and Syria, citing vetting and security concerns.
Judge McConnell concluded that the policies placed "the lives of countless individuals on hold, solely by virtue of their countries of birth." He added, "But the rule of law has to apply to everyone equally and, as evident here, USCIS has neither 'followed the law' nor 'done things the right way.' Indeed, the agency has violated the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering, as well as the administrative laws that govern the agency's actions."
