A federal judge has issued a significant ruling that prevents the Trump administration from immediately revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. This decision halts the administration’s plan to terminate the deportation protections and work permits granted under a Biden-era program known as CHNV.
The judge, Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court in Boston, argued that the mass termination of legal status without individual case reviews undermines the rule of law. Her order suspends the deportation warnings issued by the government and prevents officials from revoking the immigration parole granted to these migrants. This provides a crucial reprieve for those who entered the U.S. legally under the CHNV program, allowing them to remain in the country, at least for now.
The CHNV program, implemented by the Biden administration, allowed approximately 532,000 migrants from the four specified countries to enter the U.S. legally after securing sponsorship from U.S.-based individuals. Upon arrival, they were granted parole and work permits for two years. The Biden administration partially attributed a decrease in illegal border crossings from these countries to the success of this initiative.
However, the program faced legal challenges from Republican-led states who argued that the parole authority did not grant the federal government the power to admit such a large number of immigrants through a program with broad eligibility rules. The Biden administration also temporarily paused the initiative in 2024 due to concerns about fraudulent applications, and declined to allow renewals beyond the initial two-year period.
Upon President Trump’s return to office, the CHNV program was immediately paused, and the Trump administration moved swiftly to dismantle parole-based immigration policies, citing concerns about exceeding presidential authority and inadequate vetting of the migrants. The administration had issued a 30-day deadline for voluntary departure, with threats of arrest and deportation for those who remained.
This ruling marks another legal setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to overturn Biden-era immigration policies. It follows a similar decision by a California judge who blocked the termination of a Temporary Protected Status policy protecting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. The ongoing legal battles highlight the significant challenges facing the Trump administration as it attempts to reshape the nation’s immigration system.
