Madison judge blocks immigration order for Syrian man

MADISON - A federal judge in Madison on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s revised immigration order from applying to the case of a Syrian asylum recipient and his family.

U.S. District Judge William Conley put a limited freeze on the presidential order that restricts immigration from six mostly Muslim nations. The order applies only to the Syrian man and lasts only until his case can be resolved, ensuring the government will keep working on the man’s asylum request for his family while he challenges Trump’s latest immigration limits.

“Given the daily threat to the lives of plaintiff’s wife and child remaining in Aleppo, Syria, the court further finds a significant risk of irreparable harm,” Conley wrote in a brief order Friday.

The Syrian man arrived in the United States in 2014 and was granted asylum in 2016 because he had been persecuted. He believes his wife and 3-year-old daughter were near to having asylum granted before Trump issued two immigration orders, one that was blocked by courts and a revised order meant to respond to those legal challenges.

The federal government last month told Conley that Trump’s immigration order isn’t blocking the man’s petition to be reunited with his family. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice said the asylum request for the man’s wife and daughter is being processed.

The man, who lives in Dane County, has been allowed to pursue his case anonymously to protect the identity of his wife and daughter in Syria.