A federal appeals court in Boston has lifted a key legal barrier, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with plans to deport around 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns an earlier decision that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from ending Biden-era humanitarian parole programs. Migrants who entered under those measures and hold no other legal status in the United States now face imminent loss of work permits and the prospect of deportation.
Earlier this year, DHS began dismantling humanitarian parole programs introduced under former President Joe Biden. These initiatives allowed nationals from crisis-stricken countries to legally enter the U.S.
In February, DHS formally notified beneficiaries they must leave voluntarily. The department warned that those who refused “may be subject to enforcement actions, including but not limited to detention and removal, without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner.”
The Associated Press reported that this marked the first mass termination of such a program.
Several migrants challenged the policy in federal court, where a district judge sided with them and temporarily halted deportations. The judge concluded the immigrants risked “irreparable harm” if forced to leave abruptly.
But in May, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened with a brief, unsigned order granting the administration a reprieve. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The Trump administration then pressed the Boston appeals court to remove the lower court’s injunction. In its filing, government lawyers argued: “The Secretary’s discretionary rescission of a discretionary benefit should have been the end of the matter.”
Friday’s Appeals Court Ruling
On Friday evening, a three-judge panel issued a two-page decision siding with the government.
The court acknowledged the human cost: “We recognize the risks of irreparable harm persuasively laid out in the district court’s order: that parolees who lawfully arrived in this country were suddenly forced to choose between leaving in less than a month — a choice that potentially includes being separated from their families, communities, and lawful employment and returning to dangers in their home countries.”
However, the judges concluded, “absent a strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits, the risk of such irreparable harms cannot, by itself, support a stay.”
With that, the Trump administration now has the authority to immediately end the parole programs.
The decision affects hundreds of thousands of migrants who had been living and working legally in the U.S. under humanitarian parole.
Newsweek reported that they will lose their work authorization and face removal proceedings. Lawyers for the plaintiffs criticized the appeals court, insisting that “the district court applied the law correctly and did not abuse its discretion.”
Advocacy groups warn that mass deportations could tear families apart, strip people of livelihoods, and send them back to unstable or dangerous conditions. For Haitians, the rampant insecurity in Port-au-Prince heightens fears. Venezuelans continue to grapple with political and economic collapse, while Cubans and Nicaraguans face the threat of political reprisals.
The Trump administration has maintained that Biden’s parole programs were temporary, discretionary measures. DHS officials argue that continuing them would encourage further irregular migration and overburden U.S. infrastructure.
As of Friday evening, Newsweek reported it had sought comment from the White House and DHS but received no immediate response.
Wider Context
The ruling comes amid a series of legal battles over the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.
The Associated Press noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently operating deportation flights at a pace of “45 departures a day,” highlighting the scale of enforcement.
For the administration, the Boston appeals court’s ruling marks a significant legal victory, reinforcing the principle that discretionary benefits granted by the executive branch can be revoked at any time.
For affected migrants, the future remains uncertain, hinging on the pace of deportations and the potential for further appeals.
It is important to note that beneficiaries of the Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela (CHNV) program who also hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or another form of legal residency are not subject to deportation under this ruling.
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Source: Newsweek
