Federal judge blocks Trump immigration freeze

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to resume processing thousands of stalled immigration benefit applications, ruling that a policy imposing an indefinite freeze likely exceeded legal authority and was influenced by discriminatory motives. U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley granted a preliminary injunction on Monday, July 6, 2026, in a case brought by 25 foreign nationals already living legally in the United States.

The ruling blocks policies from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that had halted final decisions on applications for work authorizations and green cards for individuals from seven specific countries: Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Tanzania, and Venezuela. The plaintiffs include healthcare professionals, researchers, university professors, and families who had been left in legal limbo, unable to receive decisions on their pending cases.

In a detailed opinion, Judge Marbley drew a sharp legal distinction between policies governing entry at the border and the processing of applications for people already lawfully residing in the country. He found the administration lacked clear statutory authority to impose an open-ended pause on...