R.I. judge says Trump officials must restart asylum and immigration processing

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday struck down a slate of immigration policies enacted by the Trump administration, writing that it had left immigrants living in the United States in “indeterminate legal limbo” because of “anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making.”

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In a searing 135-page opinion, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. wrote that actions to lock eligible asylum-seekers out of the immigration system and deny others temporary work permits had made it functionally impossible for a broad swath of people to remain in the country. The resulting squeeze, he wrote, “placed the lives of countless individuals on hold — solely by virtue of their countries of birth.”

The policies, enacted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, included a global hold on asylum applications filed with the agency. It also paused decisions on immigration applications filed by people from the 39 countries subject to the president’s travel ban, halting their ability to obtain green cards, U.S. citizenship and other benefits.

The policies were announced in November shortly after authorities said an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington. The man, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has pleaded not guilty.

The freeze resulted in many immigrants inside the United States waiting indefinitely for decisions on their applications, disrupting their ability to legally work and leaving them to question whether they could remain in the country.

“Over six months later, many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures,” McConnell wrote.

McConnell wrote that the various holds violated the immigration laws governing the responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and that the agency had routinely applied the law unequally under the policies.

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He wrote that the burden of the changes fell hardest on people who had followed all the procedures demanded of them, rather than immigrants who entered the country illegally, whom the Trump administration routinely vilifies.

“The court is reminded of a line often repeated in discussions around immigration policy: If people wish to immigrate to the United States, they ought to ‘follow the law’ and ‘do things the right way,’” he wrote. “This case serves as a perfect example of immigrants doing just that.”

Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit that helped represent the immigration groups and unions behind the lawsuit, celebrated the ruling.

“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,” said Skye Perryman, the organization’s president. “These unlawful policies caused enormous harm to families, workers, asylum-seekers and communities across the country.”

Neither U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services nor its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, immediately responded to a request for comment.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.