In a reversal of earlier court blockades, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration can terminate legal protections for about 430,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, The Associated Press reported. The protections in question come from the ‘humanitarian parole’ program under then President Joe Biden’s administration, which provided two‑year legal status and work authorisation.
What the Court Said
According to the report, the decision came from a three‑judge panel of the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals. While the judges acknowledged serious risks including that these parolees “were suddenly forced to choose between leaving in less than a month… potentially including being separated from their families, communities, and lawful employment and returning to dangers in their home countries,” they held that “absent a strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits, the risk of such irreparable harms cannot, by itself, support a stay.”
The latest ruling effectively lifts a stay issued by a district court, and potentially paves the way for the Trump administration to proceed with ending the parole protections even as the legal battle continues.
Reactions from Advocates
Meanwhile, legal and immigrant‐rights groups have expressed disappointment while also sounding an alarm.
Lamenting that the Friday ruling “hurts everyone”, Esther Sung, legal director at the Justice Action Center, told AP, “People who came here from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela did everything the government asked of them, and the Trump administration cruelly and nonsensically failed to hold up the government’s end of the bargain.”
Many have argued that quite a few parolees followed all rules and depended on the legal status to live, work, and support families in the US, and that the court here allowed protections to be ended categorically without individual review, as reported by Reuters.
Govt’s Argument & Legal Background
The Trump administration, for its part, has defended the move by insisting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to revoke these protections, and that the humanitarian parole was always intended to be temporary, per Reuters. They also reportedly argued that evaluating each case individually would be a “gargantuan task” slowing their policy goals.
Earlier, district court judge Indira Talwani had blocked the end of these protections in April, saying at the time that the DHS couldn’t strip protections without case‑by‑case review. That decision was stayed by the Supreme Court in May without much explanation.
What This Means Now
- Parolees affected may lose work permits and protection from deportation once the program is terminated.
- The case isn’t over, and any ongoing litigation could still change the outcome.
- Advocates, meanwhile, have warned of dangerously abrupt consequences: right from family separation to loss of livelihoods, and deportation risk.
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