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A US court has ordered the cancellation of several immigration policies of the former US President Donald Trump administration. This decision paves the way for immigrants from 39 countries, who were affected by these policies, to obtain political asylum, green cards, and other legal immigration benefits. This news comes via Reuters.
On Friday (June 5), US Federal Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island nullified a series of policies adopted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to him, these policies had plunged people from dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East into extreme ‘legal uncertainty’.
Judge John McConnell stated that the concerned immigrants had followed all legal procedures according to laws enacted by Congress and USCIS regulations. Nevertheless, they were forced to wait for months because USCIS refused to make decisions on their applications.
The judge further added in his ruling, ‘No fault of these individuals was responsible for the suspension of USCIS’s adjudicative process; it occurred solely due to their place of birth.’
This ruling is being hailed as a major victory for immigrant service organizations and labor unions, which had filed a lawsuit against these controversial USCIS policies last March.
The Trump administration intensified its anti-immigration crackdown following a shooting incident targeting two National Guard members on duty in Washington D.C. in November. Prosecutors claimed an Afghan immigrant carried out that attack. USCIS adopted these stringent policies as part of that crackdown. Following the incident, Trump announced on social media that ‘immigration from all third-world countries would be permanently suspended until the US system is fully restored.’ Concurrently, his administration increased the number of countries under full or partial travel bans to 39.
Countries under the full travel ban included Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela, and Syria. The Trump administration claimed these travel bans were imposed due to security vetting and protection concerns.
The policies adopted by USCIS resulted in the suspension of immigration-related application processing for citizens of 39 countries. In Judge McConnell’s words, this ‘stalled countless lives—solely due to their place of birth.’
He further stated in his ruling, ‘The rule of law applies equally to everyone. It is clear that USCIS did not follow the law and did not operate correctly. Rather, the agency violated immigration law and the administrative laws governing its operations.’