Trump asylum freeze blocked for 39 countries by judge

A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to restart asylum and immigration processing for people from 39 countries, blocking a freeze that had stalled applications by nationality.

Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said the government could not leave cases unresolved solely because of where an applicant was born. His 135-page opinion requires officials to begin resolving more than a million backlogged applications, according to The New York Times, and puts the next move back in the hands of immigration agencies that had stopped work on those files. The length of the opinion underscored how much of the record was already before the court when McConnell ordered a restart.

The order gives immigrant plaintiffs an immediate win in a central legal fight over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. It also limits, at least for now, the administration’s attempt to rely on broad country-based restrictions while courts review whether those measures can displace ordinary asylum and immigration rules.

McConnell cast the lawsuit as a demand for lawful process, not a ruling that every applicant should receive protection. The freeze, he wrote, had “placed the lives of countless individuals on hold” because of their countries of birth.

The ruling does not force approvals. It forces review.

That distinction is likely to shape the appeal. Country-wide holds can move quickly inside the executive branch, but they also create a record for judges to examine when plaintiffs say officials bypassed required procedures. The case leaves the administration defending a policy built around nationality, a category courts often examine closely when migrants say they were denied individualized process, while lawyers argue over the president’s authority. For the agencies, the remedy is slower and more technical than a broad defeat, but it still requires work to resume.

The administration rejected the ruling. James Percival, general counsel at the Homeland Security Department, called it “sabotage dressed in legal clothing,” according to the same report on the decision. His response signaled that the White House sees the case as part of a broader confrontation with courts overseeing immigration policy.

Congress moves on enforcement

The order landed as Republicans in Congress were pushing in the other direction. Senate Republicans passed a $70 billion immigration-enforcement bill by a 52-47 vote, adding legislative support to the administration’s border and removal agenda. The size of the package gives the court fight a practical consequence because the money would flow through agencies now facing closer judicial review.

Any appeal of McConnell’s order would unfold as the administration tries to accelerate detentions, removals and border operations. That leaves a split between Congress, where Republicans are seeking more enforcement capacity, and the courts, where plaintiffs are challenging how the executive branch uses it.

For applicants affected by the 39-country freeze, the immediate question is whether their cases start moving again after months in limbo. For Trump, the decision adds another judicial constraint to an immigration agenda that has become a defining test of his second-term power. The order does not end the legal fight, but it forces the administration to restart processing while it continues.