New York: Indian-American federal judge Indira Talwani has delivered a major legal blow to the Trump administration by halting its plan to revoke the legal status of over 500,000 immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

The ruling, issued Monday in Boston, blocks the administration’s move to terminate a humanitarian parole programme introduced during President Joe Biden’s tenure in 2022. The programme had allowed up to 30,000 immigrants per month from the four countries to enter the United States legally and stay for two years, citing worsening conditions and human rights concerns in their home nations.

"The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans," Judge Talwani wrote in her order.
The court found that the Trump administration misinterpreted immigration law. Talwani noted that expedited removal procedures apply to individuals who enter the country illegally—not to those who arrive lawfully under an authorised government programme such as parole.

The termination order had been scheduled to take effect on April 24, just 30 days after it was published by the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.

The ruling temporarily protects the legal status of the affected immigrants while the broader lawsuit proceeds. The case has drawn national attention as the administration intensifies its focus on immigration enforcement ahead of the 2026 midterms.

President Trump, who has made immigration central to his second-term agenda, has vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants. Among the more controversial measures, his administration recently invoked rarely used wartime authority to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador—where the immigrants are now being held in prison.

AFP