A federal judge on Friday struck down Trump administration immigration policies that prevented immigrants from 39 countries from receiving decisions on asylum, work permits, green cards and citizenship applications.

U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. issued a harsh ruling criticizing the administration's approach, stating the policies "threw the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo." The judge accused U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law and acting in an arbitrary manner.

The policies were enacted following a shooting incident involving National Guard members last year. Under these measures, immigrants from 39 African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries were categorically barred from receiving final decisions on various immigration applications and benefits.

In his ruling, McConnell wrote that USCIS "claims statutory and regulatory authority that it does not possess" and "justifies its actions with pretextual concerns of 'national security' that mask anti-immigrant sentiments." He characterized the agency's actions as "contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious."

The decision came on the same day the U.S. Senate voted to pass legislation funding Trump's immigration enforcement measures. Immigration advocacy groups praised the ruling, with Democracy Forward's president stating it "reaffirms a basic principle: the federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from."

The blocked policies had left thousands of immigrants unable to work, access legal protections, or advance their immigration cases while their applications remained in indefinite suspension.