Hirota & Associates, LLLC

06/06/2026

Federal Judge Vacates the 39-Country Pause on Immigration Applications

On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island struck down a series of Trump administration policies that effectively halted the processing of immigration applications for individuals from 39 countries, stating:

"…the Benefits Hold Policy, the Global Asylum Hold Policy, the Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, and the Country-Specific Factors Policy—are declared unlawful and are vacated and set aside."

The judge noted: “And USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth.”

What this means for affected cases
While the ruling requires USCIS to resume processing the affected applications and petitions, the government may choose to challenge the decision.
Our firm continues to monitor developments in this area.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-judge-invalidates-trump-policies-targeting-immigrants-from-39-countries/ar-AA24Vj1O?ocid=BingNewsSerp

https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/16112511402.pdf

05/02/2026

Maile and Chiako celebrated Law Day and Lei Day today with the Hawaii State Bar Association by retaking their oath at the Hawaii Supreme Court and standing in support of the rule of law. When lawyers are sworn in as members of the bar, we take an oath to defend the Constitution and the rule of law, which means no one is above the law and everyone must follow the law. The 2026 national theme for Law Day is "The Rule of Law and the American Dream."

04/17/2026

Please share this flyer with friends and family to get the word out about how to protect yourself from immigration scams! Mahalo! Unfortunately, we've heard about people getting scammed in Hawaii.

04/15/2026

04/03/2026

We celebrated our office manager Susan’s birthday yesterday with lunch at Fete in Chinatown. Our office is closed today for Good Friday.

01/21/2026

Today was a special day for our client Pedro: he took the oath of allegiance to the United States and is now a proud US citizen. Pedro, you travelled down a difficult road to finally arrive at this day, and we admire your perseverance and courage. Thank you for putting your faith in us to help guide you down these last few miles of your journey. Congratulations!

12/12/2025

Our warmest congratulations to new US citizen Phyllis and her family. It was our honor and pleasure to work with her on this long journey to where she is now, a new proud United States citizen. Thank you for your heartfelt note, Phyllis, and for allowing us to share this good news with everyone here. Merry Christmas and best wishes for the next stage of your journey.

12/11/2025

Maile just returned from a lively immigration conference in Washington, DC, specifically aimed at the challenges unique to foreign medical graduates and immigration for healthcare professionals.