Trump can't revoke legal status of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, judge rules
The Trump administration can't immediately revoke the deportation protections and work permits of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally under a Biden-era program, a federal judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with its plan to terminate the legal status of those migrants on April 24. The administration had warned those affected by its announcement that they would need to self deport by that date or face arrest and deportation by federal immigration agents.
But Talwani suspended the deportation warnings the government had sent and prohibited officials from revoking the legal protection, known as immigration parole, that the Biden administration granted to more than half a million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
Talwani said those mass parole terminations could not happen without each case being reviewed.
The "early termination, without any case-by-case justification, of legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully undermines the rule of law," wrote Talwani, who sits on the federal district court in Boston.
Monday's ruling is a significant reprieve for those who arrived under a policy the Biden administration argued promoted legal immigration and dissuaded migrants from crossing the southern border unlawfully.
Under that program, known as CHNV, a total of 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were allowed to fly to the U.S. after securing a sponsorship from U.S.-based individuals. Upon entry, they were granted immigration parole and allowed to work in the U.S. lawfully for two years.
Biden administration officials partially credited the policy for a sharp reduction in illegal border crossings by migrants from the four countries whose citizens were eligible to be sponsored. But the program was not implemented without controversy.
Republican-led states challenged the policy's legality in federal court, arguing that the parole authority did not grant the federal government the power to admit such large numbers of foreigners through a program with broad eligibility rules.
The Biden administration paused the initiative for several weeks in 2024 due to concerns about fraudulent applications. It also declined to allow those who arrived under the policy to renew their parole beyond the two-year period, saying they could seek other benefits, like asylum or temporary protected status, to remain in the U.S.
The CHNV policy was paused immediately after President Trump returned to the White House in January. His administration quickly took steps to dismantle parole-based immigration policies, which it argued exceeded the president's authority. Trump administration officials have also argued those allowed into the U.S. under the CHNV initiative were not properly vetted.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security said it would give CHNV beneficiaries 30 days to leave the U.S. voluntarily, or it would seek their arrest and removal from the country. Officials said they would prioritize the arrest of migrants who had failed to apply for another immigration benefit, like asylum or a green card.
In a statement Tuesday, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin denounced the CHNV policy, claiming it "unleashed over 530,000 poorly vetted aliens into America, fueling crime and stealing jobs — forcing our agents in the field to ignore rampant fraud."
"While this ruling delays justice and undermines the integrity of our immigration system, Secretary (Kristi) Noem will use every legal option at the Department's disposal to end this chaos, prioritizing the safety of Americans," McLaughlin added.
The ruling is another legal setback for the Trump administration and its effort to discontinue Biden administration immigration programs that protect hundreds of thousands of migrants from deportation.
Late last month, a federal judge in California prevented the administration from ending a Temporary Protected Status policy that shields more than 350,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. from deportation.
