Federal judge strikes down Trump admin limits on asylum and immigration applications | CNN Politics

A federal judge struck down a series of Trump administration policies targeting asylum seekers and immigrants seeking benefits in a scathing court ruling Friday. Last year, the administration indefinitely suspended asylum adjudications and froze immigration applications for people who fell under the travel ban, among other measures, leaving millions of immigrants in the United States in legal limbo. Judge John J. McConnell Jr. acknowledged that uncertainty in his 135-page opinion. “(T)he Challenged Policies placed the lives of countless individuals on hold – solely by virtue of their countries of birth,” wrote McConnell, a nominee of former President Barack Obama. “Over six months later, many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status, and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures.” McConnell went on to lambast what he described as “strong evidence of anti-immigrant animus.” “The Government effectively invites the Court to shut its eyes and ignore the strong evidence of anti-immigrant animus before it,” the judge wrote. “Doing so would require profound naiveté on the Court’s part. Unfortunately for the Government, that is an