Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Strip Immigrant Permits

A series of federal court rulings have blocked or paused the Trump administration’s efforts to strip work permits from thousands of immigrants, including those with Temporary Protected Status and asylum seekers. In Boston, Judge Nathaniel Gorton temporarily blocked the administration from shortening or revoking work authorization as part of new immigration provisions enacted by Congress last year, with the pause to extend potentially until August 5. The rulings come amid challenges to USCIS policies that retroactively reduced work-permit durations and imposed new fees for asylum applications under the administration’s immigration agenda led by current President Trump. Immigration-rights groups and labor unions argued the policies were illegal and improperly implemented, while government lawyers contended the challenges were time-barred. The court actions leave tens of thousands of TPS and asylum applicants’ ability to work in limbo while the broader legality of the new rules is litigated. The stakes are high for migrants from multiple countries and for the administration’s hardline immigration measures as the case develops.