This story was originally produced by WGBH. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the New England News Collaborative.
A federal judge has indicated she will temporarily stop the Trump administration from ending a humanitarian parole program that has allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to legally stay in the U.S.
The comments, by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, came during a hearing Thursday in Boston federal court as part of a larger lawsuit challenging the administration’s aggressive efforts to end programs that provide legal status for large numbers of immigrants. While she has yet to issue a formal order, Talwani said she will “stay revocation of parole” for those currently in the program.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would use its legal discretion to terminate the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole program for participants and their immediate family members. DHS posted a notice to the Federal Register saying the program has ended and those in it will have their legal status expire on April 24.
“You should depart the United States now, but no later than the date of the termination of your parole. Failure to timely depart may have adverse immigration consequences,” it said.
The Biden administration created the CHNV program to lessen the burden on the southern border. Launched in 2022, it was a pathway for migrants from specific countries to flee economic instability, environmental disasters, and persecution — but to apply from their home countries. Since then, over 450,000 people have come to the U.S. with the help of a sponsor, and have been allowed to live and work here legally for two years at a time. Once here, they’re also allowed to apply for other immigration protections, like Temporary Protected Status, or asylum.
“It seems as if the court and the judge is inclined to block the mass revocation of validly issued parole grants that the government is trying to do with the Federal Register notice for CHNV beneficiaries,” said Laura Flores-Perilla, staff attorney for Justice Action Center, which is representing plaintiffs.
Talwani wrangled with Brian Ward, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, over how the government has traditionally revoked parole, the legal footing hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have used to live and work in the U.S.
Talwani questioned Ward over why the Trump administration seeks to end parole status for groups of people, instead of doing it on a case-by-case basis as the government has previously done. She also asked why the administration is seeking to place parolees into expedited removal, or promptly deport them, instead of allowing them time to file an appeal with an immigration judge.
“Are there any cases that you cited regarding expedited removal that match your view of it rather than the view I have here of it,” asked Talwani.
“Expedited removal is something that has been used to various extents and to various amounts of time over time,” said Ward, to which Talwani responded, “There’s no cases doing this.”
Ward couldn’t answer whether there is any precedent to parole being “categorically” revoked instead of being done on a case-by-case basis.
Talwani also seemed to take issue with the government using expedited removal for people who had been vetted through the parole process and weren’t in the same situation as migrants who crossed the border without papers.
“The idea is what you’re prioritizing is not the people who are coming over the border, but people who follow the rules. And so the question is, is this simply because this was a Biden program?” she said. “Because if what you’re trying to do is stop illegal immigration, these are the people who made the decision not to come here illegally, but to come here legally.”
Ward claimed that even if parolees fall of out of legal status, some won’t be immediately deported if they’ve already applied for another type of legal status.
“You’re kind of saying to me, ‘No, no don’t worry, they’ll get their asylum considered over here, it won’t be so bad,”’ said Talwani. “But what you’re really saying is that if I don’t do something today, on April 24th, 450,000 people are subject to arrest.”
Talwani said that she is inclined to make CHNV parolees their own class in the massive lawsuit, which had a first day of arguments on Monday for immigrants from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and other parole programs.
Outside of the Moakley courthouse, those involved in the case criticized the Trump administration’s attempt to end the CHNV program.
“We are here today — fighting on behalf of the people who have followed the law. Now we see a government that s literally pulling the rug under them, and trying to render them undocumented,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge, an organizational plaintiff.
Boston City Council president Ruthzee Louijeune, the council’s first Haitian-American, spoke of the contributions of parolees to the community, including to industries short on staff.
“[They’re] adding to our economy, working, going to school, and becoming Americans and becoming people who are part of the fabric of our neighborhoods, of our city, and of our country,” she said.
A number of individual plaintiffs in Massachusetts are impacted, and include both CHNV beneficiaries and their sponsors. Among them is Lucia Doe, who arrived in the U.S. last July, sponsored for parole by her sister, Norma Lorena Dus, who is a U.S. citizen living in West Stockbridge.
In Venezuela, Doe was a director of youth ministries at a local church, but her salary was $60 a month, not enough to support her and her mother’s needs. She now works as a cleaner in St. Augustine, Florida.
The complaint says the economic and political situation in Venezuela threatens Lucia’s safety and stability.
“Lucia is especially scared of what could happen to her if she is forced to return to Venezuela, because she has heard that the Venezuelan government interrogates people who have sought parole in other countries,” the complaint says.
She’s concerned questioning could lead to imprisonment.
Judge Talwani gave no timetable for when she might issue her written order.
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