US judge overturns Trump-era block on immigration applications

A federal judge has struck down Trump-era immigration policies that prevented individuals from 39 countries from receiving decisions on their applications for asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship. Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, declared the policies unlawful, stating they left immigrants from numerous African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern nations in "indeterminate legal limbo."

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indeterminate legal limbo

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, found that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adopted these policies without proper legal authority. He asserted that the agency based its decisions on "anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making."

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stuck waiting, for months on end, for benefit requests that USCIS refuses to adjudicate

Immigrants had followed established legal processes, yet found themselves "stuck waiting, for months on end, for benefit requests that USCIS refuses to adjudicate," the ruling stated. The judge emphasized that these policies, which placed a hold on processing applications from individuals based solely on their country of birth, had put countless lives on hold.

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anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making

The decision is a victory for immigrant service organizations and labor unions that filed a lawsuit in March challenging the USCIS policies. The Trump administration had implemented these measures as part of an immigration crackdown, particularly after the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan immigrant. The administration had expanded travel bans to cover 39 nations, citing vetting and security grounds.

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placed the lives of countless individuals on hold, solely by virtue of their countries of birth