A federal judge in Rhode Island has struck down a sweeping set of Trump administration policies that suspended immigration benefits for nationals from 39 countries, ruling that the freeze was unlawful and rooted in bias rather than genuine national security concerns. The 6 June ruling, issued by US District Chief Judge John J McConnell Jr, opens the door for hundreds of thousands of people with pending applications to have their cases resumed.
The 135-page ruling found that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had thrown 'countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo,' leaving many without work authorisation, legal status, or any prospect of resolution — not because of anything they had done wrong, but solely by the happenstance of their birth.
