Legal setback for Trump: a judge blocks immigration measures affecting 39 countries

A US federal judge has invalidated several immigration policies implemented by the president's administration. Donald Trump, arguing that they were unlawfully preventing nationals of 39 countries from obtaining decisions on their applications for asylum, work permits, permanent residence or citizenship.

In his ruling issued Friday, Chief Federal Judge John McConnell, based in Providence, Rhode Island, overturned a series of measures implemented by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He stated that these policies had placed thousands of people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East in a state of prolonged legal uncertainty.

The judge determined that the plaintiffs had followed the procedures established by Congress and the applicable regulations, but that their cases had remained stalled for months without processing. In his ruling, he stated that the administration refused to rule on certain requests despite the existence of a legal framework allowing for their review.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by several immigrant rights organizations and labor unions. These groups argued that the new directives had created an arbitrary system that deprived many foreigners of administrative rights to which they were entitled.

Judge McConnell also concluded that these policies had been adopted without sufficient legal or regulatory basis. He found that the administration had allowed anti-immigration considerations to influence its decisions, which, in his view, violated the legal obligations of federal authorities.

The contested measures were implemented after a shooting that wounded two National Guard members. The Trump administration subsequently strengthened several screening procedures for nationals of certain countries. This court ruling represents another setback for the White House's immigration policy and could have significant consequences for thousands of pending cases.