A US federal judge on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to resume the processing of applications from migrants living in the country under “parole” programme and seeking work permits or more permanent immigration status.
District Judge Indira Talwani, sitting in Boston, issued the ruling in a class action suit brought by migrants from Afghanistan, Latin America, and Ukraine who had been granted two-year stays under parole programmes created during former President Joe Biden’s administration. The order is expected to bring relief to thousands of applicants affected by the policy change.
Judge Talwani had earlier blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke parole for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. That decision is now being challenged by the administration at the US Supreme Court.
Talwani, who was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, rejected the Trump administration’s argument that it had broad discretion to halt the parole programmes as part of its immigration policy. In her ruling, she noted that federal law still requires the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies to follow due process when determining whether to grant or deny parole or other immigration benefits.
“We are pleased that the court has again rightly recognized the harm the government’s arbitrary decision-making has inflicted on innocent people,” said Anwen Hughes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at Human Rights First.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the ruling.
Talwani’s decision coincided with a separate ruling by a US trade court blocking the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs, delivering a dual legal setback to two central policy efforts of the current president—trade and immigration.
The case arose from the Trump administration’s decision to pause the processing of parole-related applications for migrants from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela—either those newly applying for entry or those seeking to extend their existing status.
The policy was part of a broader shift that began on January 20, Trump’s first day back in office, when he signed an executive order instructing the end of Biden-era parole programmes. On the same day, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued a memo directing agencies to pause, modify, or terminate categorical parole initiatives, asserting they lacked legal basis as parole should be granted only on a case-by-case basis.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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