A federal judge struck down Trump administration policies that halted asylum grants and immigration processing for people from 39 countries, according to multiple news outlets. Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island issued the ruling, which targeted applicants from the 39 travel‑ban countries and prevented them from receiving decisions on asylum, work permits, green cards and citizenship, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

The judge said the restrictions put the lives of immigrants in anti‑immigrant sentiment and accused the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law, according to the Hindu. The policies had targeted people from 39 African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries, the SCMP reported.

Immigrants from Nigeria and 38 other African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries are now eligible to receive final decisions on asylum, work‑permit, green‑card and citizenship applications, AllAfrica.com reported. The policy was enacted after the shooting of two National Guard members, which made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to stay and enter the United States, AllAfrica.com added.

AllAfrica.com listed the countries facing partial restrictions as Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Countries facing total restrictions were identified as Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.