Program allows migrants from 4 countries to stay in US for up to 2 years while seeking residency
A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration's effort to end a major immigration parole program that has allowed more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to live and work legally in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security announced last month that it would end the CHNV program and ordered participants to leave the US by April 24 or face deportation. The decision sparked outrage among immigrant advocates and legal groups, who have swiftly filed challenges.
Judge Indira Talwani ruled that ending the program would place thousands of immigrants at immediate risk of deportation hearings once their legal status expires in less than two weeks.
The judge blocked the complete shutdown of the program, stating: “If their parole status is allowed to lapse, plaintiffs will be faced with two unfavorable options: continue following the law and leave the country on their own, or await removal proceedings.”
“If Plaintiffs leave the country on their own, they will face dangers in their native countries, as set forth in their affidavits,” Talwani wrote in her ruling.
“For some Plaintiffs, leaving will also cause family separation. Leaving may also mean Plaintiffs will have forfeited any opportunity to obtain a remedy based on their APA (Administrative Procedure Act) claims, as leaving may moot those claims,” she added.
The program, launched in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden, allows migrants from four countries to stay in the US for up to two years while seeking residency, if they pass health and background checks and have a financial sponsor.
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