Federal Judge Blocks Trump Immigration Application Halt Tied to Travel-Ban Countries
A federal judge in Boston has blocked Trump administration immigration policies that halted or restricted applications from people tied to countries listed in travel-ban rules, creating a new legal setback for one of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by about 200 plaintiffs from countries including Iran, Syria, Haiti and Venezuela, Reuters reported. The order immediately protects 22 plaintiffs who showed they were harmed, while the judge directed both sides to address whether relief should be expanded to the broader group.
The challenged policies were adopted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services beginning in November 2025, according to Reuters. They treated an applicant’s nationality from one of 39 travel-ban countries as a “significant negative factor” when reviewing requests for immigration benefits, including asylum, green cards, work authorization and naturalization.
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Kobick found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that the policy violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s ban on nationality-based discrimination. She also found that a broader pause on processing applications conflicted with congressional requirements and existing regulations.
The plain-English consequence: USCIS cannot use the blocked policy against the protected plaintiffs while the case continues. The ruling does not permanently strike down the policy, and the administration could appeal.
Reuters reported that DHS did not provide a comment. Plaintiffs’ attorney Jim Hacking welcomed the ruling as a rejection of immigration restrictions he said Congress had not authorized.
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