A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending a program that allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the U.S. and work legally. The program was created by the Biden administration to provide legal pathways for people from these four nations, with more than 500,000 migrants entering the country under the program. The termination of the program was set to take effect on April 24, but Judge Indira Talwani issued an emergency stay order preventing this from happening, preserving the legal status of program participants until their originally stated parole end dates.
The Biden administration had paused the program last August to investigate allegations of fraudulent applications, but the Trump administration planned to end it as part of broader efforts to roll back immigration measures. The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that grants the commander in chief authority to detain or deport noncitizens, was implemented by Trump in March. The termination of the program would have put program participants at risk of deportation hearings within two weeks. Judge Talwani’s ruling prevents the termination regulation published on March 25 and all individualized notices sent to noncitizens informing them their parole was being revoked without case-by-case review.
Without the court’s intervention, migrants in the CHNV program would have been forced to choose between leaving the country on their own or facing removal proceedings. Talwani emphasized that terminating legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully undermines the rule of law. In contrast, the DHS and organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform support the termination of the program, citing public safety and the need to prioritize America first. However, Talwani’s ruling indicates that there is likely to be a longer legal battle ahead as the case progresses through the courts.
The CHNV parole program allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to stay in the U.S. for up to two years with work authorization if they had financial sponsors and passed security checks. The termination of the program would have affected hundreds of thousands of individuals who had entered the country under this program. Talwani’s ruling provides relief to these participants by preserving their legal status until their parole end dates, preventing them from facing immediate deportation hearings. The ruling addresses concerns raised by program participants about the impact of the abrupt termination of the program on their legal status in the U.S.
Judge Talwani’s emergency stay order prevents the termination of the CHNV program from going into effect, maintaining the legal status of program participants for the time being. The court’s decision highlights the importance of legal pathways for migrants from these four nations, especially in the current immigration landscape. With the termination of the program paused, there is a sense of uncertainty about what the future holds for the participants and the program as a whole. As the legal battle continues, it remains to be seen how the courts will ultimately decide the fate of the CHNV program and its participants in the U.S.
