A federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled against a series of immigration restrictions imposed by the Trump administration following a National Guard shooting incident. Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell ordered the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resume processing immigration applications that had been halted for months.
Judge McConnell determined that USCIS unlawfully suspended the adjudication of immigration benefits for applicants from 39 countries affected by Trump's travel bans and improperly paused asylum processing nationwide. The policies, enacted around Thanksgiving, had prevented immigrants from receiving decisions on applications for green cards, work permits, and citizenship.
In a 135-page ruling, McConnell stated that the agency's actions had placed many immigrants in legal limbo and lacked the authority to impose such freezes. He emphasized that the affected immigrants had complied with legal immigration processes but were left waiting for decisions. The ruling mandates the administration to resume processing applications and schedule naturalization ceremonies that had been canceled.
The lawsuit challenging these policies was filed in March by a coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions. Immigration advocates have described the decision as a significant victory for those whose cases had been stalled.
The National Guard shooting that prompted these immigration policies occurred on November 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The incident involved an Afghan national who had entered the U.S. under the Biden administration's Operation Allies Welcome program and allegedly attacked National Guard members, resulting in one death and one critical injury.