The Trump administration announced Friday it will restart asylum and immigration applications processing after a federal judge struck down restrictive USCIS policies. More than one million applications had been frozen since November, blocking green cards, citizenship pathways, and legal work authorization for applicants from dozens of countries.

Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island ruled the policies violated legal immigration procedures, particularly targeting applicants from 39 nations in Africa and the Middle East. USCIS deputy director Angelica Alfonso-Royals instructed staff to treat the policies as void, though the agency filed an appeal seeking to pause the decision.

McConnell issued a sharp rebuke this week, writing there was no excuse for the administration's delay in compliance. The policies emerged after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington, though the judge found them rooted in anti-immigration bias rather than security concerns.

Immigration advocacy groups hailed the ruling as blocking discriminatory measures that created chaos in legal pathways. The processing restart affects thousands of pending cases and could restore work authorization for applicants caught in the bureaucratic freeze.