Overview
- A U.S. District Court judge issued the decision on Friday, June 5, 2026, vacating four USCIS policies that had paused or reversed adjudication of asylum claims, green cards, work permits and naturalizations for nationals of 39 countries.
- Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled that USCIS exceeded its statutory authority, failed to follow required administrative procedures and relied on pretextual national‑security explanations that masked anti‑immigrant animus.
- The court explicitly invalidated an indefinite freeze on permanent‑resident and citizenship processing, a broad pause on asylum decisions, mandatory re‑reviews of prior approvals, and guidance treating nationality as a negative factor.
- The Department of Homeland Security criticized the ruling and said it will pursue further review or appeal, leaving unclear how quickly or uniformly USCIS will restart case processing or how officials will prioritize backlogged files.
- Advocates called the order a victory for thousands who lost work authorization and legal certainty, and legal experts say the judgment creates a stronger barrier to future nationality‑based pauses while immediate relief for applicants may be phased and uneven.