An Indian-origin judge, Indira Talwani, has blocked the Trump Administration’s move to end humanitarian parole for people from four Latin American countries. The ruling has dealt a blow to US President Trump’s administration as it was looking to end the Biden-era Humanitarian Parole Program for people from four Latin American countries that allowed them to live in the US, generally for two years with work authorisation.
A federal judge in Boston, Talwani, who is of Indian descent, has prevented the Trump administration’s move to end the Biden-era programme that allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to work in America for two years. This could be a blow to Trump’s rapid push to carry out mass deportations.
Talwani said the government could not provide a “reasoned decision” and questioned why people who had passed background checks were treated like illegal immigrants.
She was nominated by Barack Obama in 2013, according to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts website.
Talwani is the daughter of Indian immigrants from India and Germany, according to a report by The Times of India. She studied at Harvard University and at UC Berkley.
Last month, the Trump administration revoked legal protections for around 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who came to the US under a “parole” program introduced by ex-President Joe Biden in 2022.
“The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” news agency AFP quoted Talwani in her order.
Under the humanitarian parole programme, up to 30,000 migrants per month are allowed to come to the US from the four countries which have poor human rights records.
In her 41-page ruling, Talwani wrote that the Trump administration had acted on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, with expedited removal applicable to non-citizens entering the United States illegally, but not those authorised to be in the country, such as through the parole program.
Under Trump’s revocation, over 530,000 immigrants from these Latin American countries would lose their legal protection effective April 24, 2025, just 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security announced its move to terminate the Humanitarian Parole Program.
During his campaign, Trump had promised to deport “millions” of illegal immigrants.
The ruling has brought a sigh of relief to hundreds of thousands of people who entered the US under the humanitarian program.
“This ruling is a significant step toward justice for not only the hundreds of thousands of people who entered the US through this important process, but for the American sponsors who welcomed them to their homes and communities. With this decision, so many people throughout the country will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief,” The Hill quoted Karen Tumlin, the founder and director of Justice Action Centre, an immigrant advocacy group, as saying.
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