Judge Blocks Order That Would End Humanitarian Parole for More than 500,000

Federal District Court Judge Indira Talwani announced she will stay the government’s order revoking humanitarian parole for more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

In this context, parole is a temporary protection status for some immigrants who come from any of the four named countries and have sponsors in the USA. It allows the immigrants to live and work in the USA for up to two years. That period allows time for them to pursue a longer-term legal status, which can be a slow process. The program began in 2022 during the Biden administration.

In court, Talwani repeatedly delved into the government’s claim that it can end the program. Talwani noted that immigrants in the program are here legally, and abruptly rescinding their legal status presents them with a choice between  “fleeing the country” or staying to “risk losing everything.”

Talwani said “The nub of the problem here is that the secretary [of Homeland Security], in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision,” and the government’s rationale for cutting off the program was “based on an incorrect reading of the law.”

“There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut.”

Talwani’s stay is sure to be temporary but relaxes a 24 April 2025 deadline for the targeted immigrants to leave the country on their own or decide to stay and take their chances with an increasingly aggressive program of roundups and expulsions.

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