Washington: A U.S. federal judge has invalidated Trump-era immigration policies that had blocked or delayed immigration benefit decisions for applicants from 39 countries, ruling that the measures were unlawful and exceeded government authority.
According to court findings, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. ruled that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) acted outside its legal mandate by freezing or delaying asylum decisions, work permits, green card applications, and citizenship processes for affected nationals.
The policies had effectively placed thousands of immigrants from countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East into prolonged legal uncertainty, prompting a lawsuit from immigrant rights organisations and labor unions.
The court found that the restrictions lacked proper legal justification and amounted to discriminatory treatment based on nationality. It ordered the federal government to halt the enforcement of the contested measures and resume processing affected immigration applications.
Immigrant advocacy groups welcomed the ruling, describing it as a major victory for due process and equal treatment under U.S. immigration law. The Trump administration is expected to consider an appeal.