US court strikes down Trump’s anti-immigration policy for 39 countries

A US federal court has struck down some of President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies.

The policies were designed to hold up asylum, work permits, green cards and citizenship applications for citizens of 39 countries. The court's ruling comes as a major relief to thousands of immigrants who have been stuck in long legal tussles.

Chief US District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, ruled on Friday (June 5). He said the policies adopted by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have left citizens of dozens of Asian, African, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries in an indefinite legal limbo.

The judge, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, said in clear terms that USCIS has been refusing to process applications for months despite immigrants filing due process applications in accordance with Congressional law. These policies were adopted without any statutory or regulatory authority, which is completely illegal. The agency made this decision primarily motivated by anti-immigration sentiment, which is completely prohibited from making decisions. Judge McConnell added in his observation that the applicants were not at fault for their detention, but rather because of their country of origin.

In March of this year, several immigrant service organizations and labor unions filed a joint lawsuit against this discriminatory policy. The court's ruling is seen as a major victory for the coalition. Sky Perryman, the head of the liberal legal group Democracy Forward, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case, welcomed the ruling, saying that the court reiterated a fundamental principle: that the federal government cannot close any legal immigration path and cannot discriminate based on where people are born. However, there was no immediate comment from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the ruling.

According to the investigation, the Trump administration took a tough stance against immigrants after the shooting of two National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C. The attack was carried out by an Afghan immigrant, who, however, claimed innocence in court.

After the incident, Donald Trump announced on social media that he would temporarily suspend immigration from certain countries in order to completely overhaul the US immigration system. His administration subsequently imposed full or partial travel bans on 39 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela and Syria, citing security and stricter screening.

In response, USCIS suspended all immigration applications for citizens of those 39 countries. The court ruled that this decision had put millions of lives on hold, in violation of both the original immigration laws created by Congress and the administrative law. The rule of law should apply equally to all, and the court ruled that USCIS had failed to act properly in this case.

Source: Reuters.