Federal judge in R.I. demands Trump administration comply with order to end unlawful immigration halt for 39 countries
A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to immediately resume asylum and immigration processing for immigrants from 39 African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries.
US District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. demanded on Thursday that the government follow his June 5 order that struck down policies that halted asylum, green cards and work permits, and other immigration proceedings for people from those countries.
The judge gave the Trump administration 24 hours to give the court a status report on the steps it was taking to comply.
“There is no excuse this time; the Government has an obligation to immediately comply with this Order,” McConnell wrote.
McConnell had found that US Citizenship and Immigration Services had justified its actions with “pretextual concerns of ‘national security’ that mask anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making.” He said the policies were unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious, and vacated them.
Six days later, McConnell was told that the federal government was still following its policies, despite his ruling.
A coalition of unions and nonprofits that aid immigrants and refugees filed an emergency motion to enforce McConnell’s order. The coalition, which had sued USCIS and the US Department of Homeland Security over these policies, told the judge that the federal government hadn’t stopped anything.
In fact, the group said in its motion on Wednesday, “the government continues to withhold citizenship, green cards, work permits and other essential immigration benefits from Plaintiffs’ members and clients, as well as immigrants around the country,” according to a motion signed by Amy Romero of the Lawyers Committee for Rhode Island, and Ryan Cooper of Democracy Forward.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, sought to stay McConnell’s order, pending its appeal. It filed a motion for the court to issue a final judgment or clarify its order pending a final judgment.
“Once this Court issues a final judgment or makes clear it has issued a coercive order, DHS has prepared to and will treat the relevant policies as vacated or enjoined,” in a motion signed by First Assistant US Attorney Charles Calenda in Rhode Island, US Department of Justice counsel Tyler Becker, and acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche.
McConnell told the government that he meant what he said last week.
“USCIS’s challenged policies are no longer in effect,” McConnell wrote in a snappy six-page order on Thursday. “To be perfectly clear, this means that the challenged policies are vacated, “set aside,” “cancel[ed],” “annul[ed],” “revoke[d],” and “void[ed].”
Assistant US Attorney Lauren S. Zurier filed a notice of appeal on Friday.
The coalition that sued the Trump administration includes the Refugee Dream Center and Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, the Service Employees International Union, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, African Communities Together, Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, and American Gateways.
On Wednesday, Dorcas International hosted dozens of public officials and immigration advocates to celebrate McConnell’s decision as a “significant win” for countless immigrants and the law.
They are being represented by Democracy Forward, Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Muslim Advocates, and the South Asian American Justice Collaborative.
“The Trump-Vance administration’s cruel immigration policies have been about chaos, confusion, and inefficiency and we are proud to challenge these unlawful measures and to have secured a court order blocking the policies,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “As the administration announces its intent to appeal the court’s recognition of the devastating human consequences of these policies, we remain committed to opposing cruel policies that discriminate. ”