# Federal judge strikes down Trump asylum processing freeze  
**Published:** 2026-06-05T18:34:36.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/05/repub/trump-administration-processing-freeze-on-asylum-seekers-violated-law-judge-rules/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/federal-judge-strikes-down-trump-asylum-processing-freeze

A federal judge in Rhode Island struck down [Trump administration policies that halted processing for asylum seekers](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/05/repub/trump-administration-processing-freeze-on-asylum-seekers-violated-law-judge-rules/), ruling Friday that the blanket restrictions violated immigration law. Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island said the policies "threw the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo" following a November 2025 shooting in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration had suspended asylum adjudications and frozen immigration applications for people from 39 African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries on its travel ban list after U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, was critically wounded in the shooting. [Authorities later charged Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national granted asylum, in the shooting.](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/two-national-guard-members-west-virginia-wounded-targeted-shooting-dc)

McConnell, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, found that the policies violated "the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering." In his 135-page ruling, the judge emphasized that the pause on adjudications "cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth." He wrote that the case exemplified "immigrants doing just that" by following legal channels.

The sweeping policies had affected millions of immigrants in the United States, preventing them from obtaining work permits, green cards, citizenship applications and asylum benefits. Immigration rights groups praised the decision as a major victory. "This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: the federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which brought the lawsuit alongside labor unions and immigrant advocacy organizations.

[The immigration freeze had contributed to widespread uncertainty in Nebraska](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/like-a-threat-mass-email-urging-immigrants-to-self-deport-sows-fear-confusion-in-nebraska/), where [ICE arrests surged 329% year-over-year from 2024 to 2025.](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/theres-fear-ice-arrests-surge-in-nebraska-with-329-percent-increase-in-2025/) The ruling provides clarity for thousands of immigrants nationwide awaiting resolution of their cases.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the policies in a statement, with General Counsel James Percival calling the decision "sabotage dressed in legal clothing." A status conference on the underlying criminal case is set for June 10 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/05/repub/trump-administration-processing-freeze-on-asylum-seekers-violated-law-judge-rules/)
- [States Newsroom article on the Washington, D.C. shooting](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/two-national-guard-members-west-virginia-wounded-targeted-shooting-dc)
- [Nebraska Public Media article on immigration uncertainty in Nebraska](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/like-a-threat-mass-email-urging-immigrants-to-self-deport-sows-fear-confusion-in-nebraska/)
- [Nebraska Public Media article on ICE arrests in Nebraska](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/theres-fear-ice-arrests-surge-in-nebraska-with-329-percent-increase-in-2025/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/05/repub/trump-administration-processing-freeze-on-asylum-seekers-violated-law-judge-rules/.