Obama-Appointed Judge Slaps Down Trump Admin’s Common-Sense Pause on Green Card Applications from High-Risk Travel Ban Countries — Orders Fast-Track Processing for 83 Plaintiffs from Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and More!

A federal judge in Maryland has sided with a group of immigrants from countries flagged for terror risks and national security threats, blocking USCIS from pausing their green card applications.

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Judge George L. Russell III, an Obama appointee, issued a sweeping preliminary injunction on Friday, blocking USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow from enforcing two key Policy Memoranda (PM-602-0192 and PM-602-0194) that placed adjudicatory holds on green card (Form I-485) applications from nationals of dozens of “Countries of Identified Concern.”

These policies were a direct response to President Trump’s Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, which rightly restricted entry from high-risk nations lacking proper screening and vetting capabilities, such as Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Eritrea, and more.

This is to enhance national security reviews to keep terrorists, criminals, and public safety threats out of our communities.

But this judge, in a 39-page Memorandum Opinion, ruled the holds “arbitrary and capricious,” claiming USCIS failed to adequately consider “reliance interests” of the 83 plaintiffs (many from these exact hot spots) who want their green cards processed ASAP. The court ordered the government to resume processing these applications, potentially within 30 days.

The Daily Record reported:

The 83 Maryland plaintiffs sued in January and asked for a preliminary injunction against the hold on applications by people from those countries. They alleged the indefinite pause would cause irreparable harm to their careers, businesses and families.

All but three of the plaintiffs are citizens of Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Syria or Venezuela, which are all on the list; the other three are married to citizens of those countries. Twenty-five are spouses or children of the other 58.

Russell noted that many are scientists and researchers who are unable to attend international conferences while their residency applications are pending. Others alleged in the complaint that they have had to postpone decisions about having children due to the uncertainty.

Russell granted their request for a preliminary injunction, deciding to preserve the status quo before the indefinite pause. He ruled that the USCIS policy memorandum counts as a “final agency action” eligible for court review.

The order only applies to the 83 plaintiffs.

Russell ruled that they were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims, that they were likely to suffer irreparable harm without final decisions on their applications and that a preliminary injunction would serve the public interest.

He declined, however, to order the agency to process the applications within 30 days, as the plaintiffs requested, because they are in different stages. Some of them have provided the required biometrics data — including fingerprints, photos and signatures — and are awaiting final approval, while others only submitted their applications shortly before the complaint was filed.

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