Federal Judge Halts Trump-Era Attempt to End Work Permits for 530,000 Migrants in Biden Parole Program

A federal judge has blocked efforts by the Trump administration to strip legal protections and work permits from more than 530,000 migrants who entered the United States through a humanitarian parole program launched under President Joe Biden.

In a ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ordered a temporary halt to the revocation of parole and work authorization for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — beneficiaries of the CHNV program, a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s approach to managing migration.

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, emphasized that each case must be reviewed individually, criticizing the blanket attempt to cancel legal status without due process.

“The termination of parole for CHNV migrants without case-by-case review is hereby stayed pending further court order,” Judge Talwani wrote, referencing the March 25 policy issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The CHNV parole program, launched in 2022 and expanded in 2023 under Biden’s executive authority, allowed migrants and their immediate family members to legally enter the U.S. by air — provided they had a U.S.-based sponsor. The program granted them two years of temporary legal status and permission to work.

The Biden administration has defended the program as a strategy to reduce illegal border crossings while ensuring more controlled and secure immigration processing. However, it faced backlash after instances of fraud emerged, and some parole recipients were involved in high-profile criminal cases.

In March, DHS informed migrants under the program that their parole and work authorization would be revoked as of April 24 — just one month after the policy was published. The Trump team, eyeing a return to stricter immigration controls, sought to dismantle the initiative entirely.

In response to Monday’s court ruling, a senior official aligned with the Trump camp criticized the decision, claiming it undermines the former president’s authority to reverse executive actions made by Biden.

“It is pure lawless tyranny,” the official told Fox News.

The decision marks a major legal hurdle for any future efforts to dismantle the CHNV program without judicial oversight. It also raises broader questions about the use of executive parole authority in shaping immigration policy — a tool both administrations have relied on, albeit with opposing intentions.

As of now, the legal status of the 530,000 CHNV migrants remains intact, pending further court proceedings.

The White House has not yet issued a public response.