A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday struck down several Trump administration immigration policies that halted or delayed decisions on asylum claims, work permits, green card applications and naturalization requests involving people from 39 countries. The ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell found that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services unlawfully implemented measures that effectively froze immigration benefit processing for applicants from countries covered by expanded travel restrictions. The lawsuit was brought earlier this year by immigrant advocacy organizations and labor groups that argued the policies left thousands of people unable to obtain decisions on applications required to live and work legally in the United States.

The challenged policies were introduced as part of a broader immigration enforcement agenda that followed heightened national security concerns raised by the administration after a deadly 2025 shooting involving an immigrant from Afghanistan. Under the measures, immigration officials suspended or delayed adjudication of numerous applications from people originating in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Court records showed that the restrictions affected individuals seeking asylum protection, employment authorization, permanent residency and U.S. citizenship, placing many applicants in prolonged uncertainty while their cases remained pending.

The court's decision could allow thousands of pending immigration, asylum and citizenship applications to move forward after months of delays.