NEW YORK, United States (CMC) – Caribbean immigration advocates have welcomed a ruling by a United States federal district court judge that struck down President Donald Trump’s “unlawful” immigration restrictions.

The policies enacted by Trump include measures that halted asylum applications, and paused the decisions of immigration applications, work permits, green cards and citizenship applications for nationals from 39 countries, primarily from Africa and the Caribbean subject to the administration’s travel ban.

In his ruling, Judge John McConnell, Jr found that the Trump administration’s actions effectively made it impossible for Caribbean and other immigrants eligible for asylum to remain in the United States and violated “the immigration laws governing the responsibilities of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.”

President and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), Murad Awawdeh, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that “every person seeking safety, stability and opportunity deserves a fair chance to have their case heard under the law.”

He said Judge McConnell “reaffirmed what we already knew: that the Trump administration violated the law, and did so with anti-immigrant malice.

“By shutting down access to asylum and preventing thousands of immigrants from receiving a decision on their immigration applications solely on the basis of which country they come from, the Trump administration acted against statute and against the rule of law.

“Their unlawful actions left thousands of families in limbo, cut people from life-saving protections, and undermined the rule of law by attempting to bypass the immigration system established by Congress. We applaud Judge McConnell’s ruling, which renews faith in our legal system as fair and accountable.”

But Awawdeh said while the judge’s decision restores “critical pathways for many, Congress must continue fighting for policies that uphold due process, protect immigrant families, and ensure every individual is treated with fairness under the law.”

Skye Perryman, the president of Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit organisation that helped represent several immigration groups and labour unions filing the lawsuit against the Trump administration, said Judge McConnell’s ruling “reaffirms a basic principle: The federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from.

“These unlawful policies caused enormous harm to families, workers, asylum seekers and communities across the country,” he said.

In his ruling, Judge McConnell wrote that in view of Trump’s immigration policies “many of those individuals remain without work, without legal status and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures.

“The court is reminded of a line often repeated in discussions around immigration policy: If people wish to immigrate to the United States, they ought to ‘follow the law’ and ‘do things the right way,’” he wrote adding “this case serves as a perfect example of immigrants doing just that.”

Meantime, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of attorneys general won a lawsuit against the Trump administration for imposing an “illegal US$100,000 fee” on all new applicants for H-1B visas, a critical programme that allows highly-trained immigrants to temporarily work in the United States.

James said H-1B recipients fill essential roles in health care, education, technology, and other fields, “contributing significantly to their states’ economies and filling critical shortages of essential workers, particularly in health care”.

The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favour of James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general that sued the administration for imposing the fee on all new H-1B applications, a massive increase over the visa’s typical fees.

The court granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the policy implementing the fee unlawful.

“Every day, thousands of people with H-1B visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers. Today, a court put an end to this administration’s illegal attempt to destroy this critical program and the many jobs it makes possible,” said James.

“Workers with these visas contribute immensely to our state, and I will keep fighting to stop this administration’s unjust and unlawful attacks on our immigrant communities,” she added.

The New York Attorney General said the H-1B programme allows employers to petition to hire workers in a “specialty occupation” for a maximum of six years.

She said while H-1B visa fees have historically been just several thousand dollars, the Trump administration suddenly announced in September 2025 that a US$100,000 fee would be imposed on all new H-1B applications.

In December 2025, Attorney General James and the coalition sued the administration to stop the fee from being implemented. The court on Monday granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the fee unlawful and vacating the policy implementing it.