A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday issued a sweeping injunction against the Trump administration's pause on processing immigration applications for citizens from countries covered by the president's travel ban, ruling the policy was arbitrary and left thousands of people in indefinite uncertainty.
U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick, a Biden appointee, sharply criticized the administration's rationale for the pause, which was implemented after an Afghan national attacked two National Guard officers in Washington, D.C., last year, killing one, and following a thwarted terror plot. The judge found that the government failed to connect those isolated incidents to a broad suspension affecting applicants from 39 nations.
"These are thin reeds on which to rest an assertion of reasoned decisionmaking," Kobick wrote in her decision. "With respect to the criminal acts planned or committed by Afghan nationals, the government makes no argument as to how two serious, but isolated, violent crimes planned by two people from one country is rationally connected with a policy stopping adjudication of benefit applications by people from 39 different countries, as well as applications for asylum by people from every country in the world."
The pause, ordered by President Trump in the wake of the attack, halted all immigration applications—including those for green cards and citizenship—from the designated countries. The policy also froze asylum claims globally, a move Kobick said lacked any reasoned basis for public safety or national security concerns.
"There is no indication that USCIS meaningfully considered the consequences of throwing thousands of benefit applicants into indefinite limbo and perpetual uncertainty about whether they will be granted asylum, become a United States citizen, receive work authorization, or obtain a green card," she added.
The case was brought by more than 200 plaintiffs whose applications were stalled by the orders. Among them were individuals seeking asylum, family reunification, and employment-based visas. The judge also found that the Trump administration was violating federal law by directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to indefinitely delay adjudications, contrary to statutory requirements.
"By statute and regulation, Congress and USCIS have specified that, at a certain point, investigations must end and a decision must be made," Kobick wrote. "The charge to conduct investigations does not give USCIS authority to perpetually delay adjudication of applications."
The ruling comes amid broader legal challenges to Trump's immigration policies, including his administration's handling of border security and asylum procedures. Critics have argued that the pause was a punitive measure that unfairly targeted Muslim-majority and other vulnerable populations. The decision is likely to be appealed, but for now, it restores normal processing for thousands of applicants.
This is not the first time a federal court has pushed back on Trump's travel ban-related policies. Earlier this year, a separate ruling blocked similar restrictions, and the administration has faced ongoing litigation over its immigration agenda. The judge's decision underscores the tension between the executive branch's claims of national security and the judiciary's role in checking overreach.
