Judge blocks Trump policies that halted many legal immigration cases

Politics Judge blocks Trump policies that halted legal immigration cases for many immigrants By Camilo Montoya-Galvez Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization's social media accounts. Read Full Bio Camilo Montoya-Galvez June 5, 2026 / 1:23 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday blocked a series of Trump administration measures that have prevented federal officials from granting asylum, green cards and other legal immigration benefits to many immigrants in the U.S.In a 135-page opinion, Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island found the sweeping limits on legal immigration benefits to be arbitrary and capricious, contrary to federal law.One of the policies McConnell invalidated had halted all legal immigration applications filed by citizens of 39 countries listed on President Trump's so-called "travel ban" list, which restricts travel from countries whose nationals the administration says are too difficult to properly screen.The Trump administration adopted the measures late last year on national security grounds, following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. An Afghan man who was brought to the U.S. in 2021 and granted asylum in 2025 has been charged with the shooting.For months, the pause has largely banned officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from giving out green cards, work permits, American citizenship and other benefits to citizens of the affected countries, many of them in Africa and Asia.Initially, the policies also included a complete pause on the hundreds of thousands of asylum cases overseen by USCIS, regardless of the applicant's nationality. In March, USCIS partially lifted the asylum pause, resuming the proces...