Trump AdministrationAnnounces Resumption of Asylum and Immigration Application Processing

On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it would resume processing asylum and other immigration applications submitted by a wide range of individuals who had been stalled for months.

This action follows a federal judge in Rhode Island who last week invalidated a series of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policies, representing a significant setback for the administration’s broader agenda to limit legal immigration. Those policies had imposed a worldwide suspension of asylum filings and frozen immigration applications from 39 countries, predominantly in Africa and the Middle East, affected by the travel ban.

Over one million applications had been suspended, blocking many individuals from receiving green cards, citizenship, and other immigration benefits, while also preventing them from legally working and forcing indefinite waiting periods for decisions.

In a Friday court filing, Angelica Alfonso-Royals, deputy director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, directed staff to treat the policies as if they no longer applied. The agency posted a memo stating its strong disagreement with the court’s decision but pledged to comply pending any further judicial review.

As of Friday evening, it remained uncertain whether the agency had resumed adjudicating immigration applications. On the same day, the administration lodged an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, requesting a stay of the ruling.

The response followed Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who criticized the Trump administration for not promptly complying with his prior order.

In a filing submitted Tuesday, the administration argued that Judge McConnell’s initial order, issued by an Obama appointee, was merely preliminary and had not become effective, indicating that the department had not yet resumed application processing.

In response, Judge McConnell entered a judgment on Thursday, explicitly ordering the government to cease any further delays.

He wrote, “There is no excuse this time. The government is obligated to comply immediately with this order.”

Judge McConnell set a deadline of Friday evening for the administration to submit an update detailing the specific steps it has taken to comply.

Democracy Forward, a legal organization representing various unions and immigration aid groups, accused the government of employing procedural tactics to deliberately evade last week’s court order.

Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, stated, “The Trump‑Vance administration’s immigration policies have created chaos, confusion, and inefficiency. We are proud to challenge these unlawful measures and to have secured a court order halting them. The federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against individuals based on their country of origin.”

The policies in question were issued in November following an incident in which an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington. Lakanwal has entered a not‑guilty plea.

In his 135‑page opinion released last week, Judge McConnell observed that the policies effectively barred many individuals from remaining in the country and were improperly driven by anti‑immigration sentiment.

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