White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller blasted a federal judge on Friday after a court blocked key Trump administration immigration policies implemented following the deadly shooting of a U.S. National Guard member near the White House by an Afghan national.

U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee, has struck down key Trump administration immigration enforcement measures enacted for national security reasons following a deadly ambush.

In a sweeping 135-page ruling issued Friday, McConnell declared the USCIS policies “unlawful,” “arbitrary and capricious,” and driven by “anti-immigrant sentiments” rather than legitimate security concerns.

He vacated the directives that had placed indefinite holds on asylum adjudications nationwide and paused immigration benefits including green cards, work permits (EADs), and citizenship applications for nationals of 39 countries subject to the expanded travel ban.

The policies were put in place after the November 26, 2025, targeted shooting near the White House and Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C. Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal ambushed West Virginia National Guard members, killing 20-year-old Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and seriously wounding Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe. Witnesses said the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.

The Trump administration responded by tightening scrutiny on applicants from high-risk countries, many with histories of terrorism, failed governance, or vetting concerns to prevent similar tragedies.

The measures included a global pause on asylum processing and holds on benefits for people from countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Nigeria, Yemen, and others.

McConnell didn’t see it that way.

He accused USCIS of throwing “the lives of countless immigrants living in the United States into indeterminate legal limbo — solely by virtue of their countries of birth.”

The judge claimed the agency lacked statutory authority, failed to provide reasoned explanations, ignored reliance interests, and used national security as a pretext for bias. He said the policies discriminated based on nationality in violation of immigration law and exceeded what Congress allowed.

As a result of Friday’s ruling, USCIS will be required to resume processing affected asylum claims, work permits, green card applications, citizenship cases, and other immigration benefits that had been frozen under the challenged policies, unless a higher court intervenes.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller blasted the ruling, stating:

“Local judge says it’s illegal to restrict migration and that America actually belongs to 8 billion foreigners—not you or your family and that no matter who you vote for you will be dispossessed. If SCOTUS doesn’t restrain these judges the people will lose all faith in the courts.”

Local judge says it’s illegal to restrict migration and that America actually belongs to 8 billion foreigners—not you or your family and that no matter who you vote for you will be dispossessed. If SCOTUS doesn’t restrain these judges the people will lose all faith in the courts. https://t.co/3VBoS6WIqO

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 6, 2026

Jim Hᴏft Jim Hᴏft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016.

You can email Jim Hᴏft here, and read more of Jim Hᴏft's articles here.

Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can't see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.