BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge announced her decision on Thursday to halt the Trump administration from forcing hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to leave the United States by the end of the month.
This ruling represents a significant, albeit potentially temporary, setback for the administration as it works to dismantle Biden-era policies that provided new and expanded pathways for foreign nationals to reside in the U.S., typically granted for two years with the ability to work legally.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani stated that she would place a stay on an order that would have required over 500,000 affected individuals to exit the country, offering them reprieve until the case progresses to its next stage. This group faced the cancellation of their permits on April 24.
During the hearing, Judge Talwani repeatedly challenged the government’s claims that it had the authority to terminate humanitarian parole for individuals from the four affected countries. She expressed concern that those currently in the program were confronted with the grim choice of either “fleeing the country” or remaining and “risk losing everything.”
“The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision,” Talwani remarked, noting that the justification for ending the program was “based on an incorrect reading of the law.”
She later added, “There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut.”
Last month, the administration retracted legal protections for a large number of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, effectively setting these individuals up for potential deportation within a month’s time.
These immigrants had arrived in the U.S. with financial sponsors, applying online and paying for their own airfare to obtain two-year permits to live and work in the country. During this provisional residency, beneficiaries were required to identify alternate legal avenues if they wished to remain longer in the U.S., as parole is a temporary status.
Former President Donald Trump has been systematically eliminating legal channels for immigrants to enter the United States, fulfilling campaign pledges to deport millions of undocumented individuals residing in the country.
Outside the courthouse, immigration advocates voiced their concerns, including Guerline Jozef, founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance and one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. Jozef argued that the moves against this program contradict the Trump administration’s stated goals regarding immigration.
“We hear the narrative of people coming here illegally and the administration wanting to erase illegal immigration,” Jozef stated. “But, we clearly see today that is not the case. Even those people who have legal status, are paying their taxes and working are under attack.”
Cesar Baez, a Venezuelan political opposition activist, expressed his fears for personal safety, which led him to flee his homeland and seek refuge in the U.S. under the sponsorship of a physician. Having entered under the humanitarian parole program in December 2022, Baez has spent the past year working as a producer at a media outlet in Washington.
He has also submitted applications for a work visa and for asylum, yet both processes have faced delays under the current administration.
Baez described the judge’s announcement as a source of hope. “It is very important for me to have protections and not be removed to Venezuela,” he said, adding, “I have no doubt that if I set foot in the country, I would immediately be imprisoned.”
Zamora, a 34-year-old Cuban woman who asked to be identified only by her last name due to fears of detention and deportation, shared her relief upon hearing the judge’s decision.
“I was terrified of being left without a work permit,” said Zamora, who noted her parole and work authorization are set to expire in September. “We are people who, in order to come here, have gone through several background checks, and the government takes away our status as if we had been criminals and entered illegally.”
Advocates have characterized the administration’s actions as “unprecedented,” warning that the loss of legal status would jeopardize livelihoods and raise concerns about violations of federal rule-making.
In court, the government’s lawyer, Brian Ward, maintained that ending the program does not eliminate the possibility for those affected to seek other paths to immigration. He asserted that the government would not prioritize those individuals for deportation, a claim that Judge Talwani found questionable, given the risk of arrest during routine activities like hospital visits or car accidents.
The administration’s decision to rescind temporary protections for these immigrants has not sparked significant political backlash among Republican lawmakers, aside from three Cuban-American representatives from Florida who urged the prevention of deportation for affected Venezuelans.
One of these representatives, Rep. Maria Salazar of Miami, has also joined around 200 congressional Democrats this week in co-sponsoring a bill aimed at enabling these individuals to obtain lawful permanent residency.
image source from：https://www.boston.com/news/world-news/2025/04/11/judge-boston-halt-trump-administration-from-ending-humanitarian-parole-four-countries/
