Caribbean advocates welcome court ruling against Trump immigration restrictions

NEW YORK, United States. Caribbean immigration advocates in New York on Monday, June 8, welcomed a ruling by a federal district court judge in Rhode Island striking down what they called President Donald J. Trump’s “unlawful” immigration restrictions.

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

In his ruling on Friday, Judge John J. McConnell Jr found that the 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.”

Advocates react

Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organisation representing more than 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups in New York State, told Caribbean Life that “every person seeking safety, stability and opportunity deserves a fair chance to have their case heard under the law.”

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

“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,” Mr Awawdeh said.

While the decision restores “critical pathways for many”, he said, Congress must keep fighting for policies that uphold due process and protect immigrant families.

Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, a legal non-profit that helped represent several immigration groups and labour unions in the lawsuit, said the ruling “reaffirms a basic principle: The federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from.”

“This case serves as a perfect example of immigrants doing just that.” Judge John J. McConnell Jr

In his ruling, Judge McConnell wrote that many of those affected “remain without work, without legal status and without any meaningful ability to plan for their futures.” He noted the line often repeated in immigration debates that people should “follow the law” and “do things the right way”, adding that the case was a perfect example of immigrants doing just that.

H-1B fee ruled unlawful

Also on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 19 other attorneys general won their lawsuit against the administration over a $100,000 fee imposed on all new applications for H-1B visas, which allow highly trained immigrants to work temporarily in the United States.

The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, declaring the fee unlawful and vacating the policy that implemented it.

Ms James said H-1B visa fees had historically been a few thousand dollars before the administration announced the $100,000 charge in September 2025. The coalition sued in December 2025.

“Every day, thousands of people with H-1B visas serve New Yorkers as doctors, teachers, and other skilled workers,” Ms James said. She said more than 13,000 people on H-1B visas work in sectors across New York State, including 693 employees of the State University of New York, and that more than a third of all health care workers in the state are immigrants.