BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday said she will halt the Trump administration from ending a program that allowed hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to temporarily live in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that she will issue a stay on the program, which was set to end later this month. The push to help more than half-a-million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans is part of a broader legal effort to protect nationals from Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries who are here legally.
The judge's decision has major implications for tens of thousands of immigrants in South Florida, which has the nation's largest communities of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
Last month, the administration revoked legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in 30 days. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they will lose their legal status on April 24.
READ MORE: Florida is home to about 341,000 immigrants from Venezuela and Haiti. They may soon lose residency
They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. During that time, the beneficiaries needed to find other legal pathways if they wanted to stay in the U.S. Parole has been a temporary status.
President Donald Trump has been ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S., implementing campaign promises to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally.
In motion ahead of the hearing, plaintiffs called the administration’s action “unprecedented” and said it would result in people losing their legal status and ability to work. The also called the move “contrary to law within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act,” which sets out the procedures that agencies have to follow when making rules.
Lawyers for the Trump administration argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing and that the move by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security impacting immigrants in the program, known as CHNV, did not violate the Administrative Procedure Act. They also said plaintiffs would not be able to show the termination of the program was unlawful.
“DHS’s decision to terminate the CHNV program and existing grants of parole under that program is within this statutory authority and comports with the notice requirements of the statute and regulations,” they wrote. “Additionally, given the temporary nature of CHNV parole and CHNV parolees’ pre-existing inability to seek re-parole under the program, their harms are outweighed by the harms to the public if the Secretary is not permitted to discontinue a program she has determined does not serve the public interest.”
The end of temporary protections for these immigrants has generated little political blowback among Republicans other than three Cuban-American representatives from South Florida who called for preventing the deportation of the Venezuelans affected.
Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela face communist regimes, violent gangs, and tyranny! We must protect the promises made to those people with both compassion and security in mind. DED will allow us to vet these individuals while upholding our word. pic.twitter.com/KyjjIFsGjL
— Rep. María Elvira Salazar (@RepMariaSalazar) April 10, 2025
One of them, U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Miami, also joined about 200 congressional Democrats this week in co-sponsoring a bill that would enable them to become lawful permanent residents.
South Florida Democratic U.S. Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick D-Miramar, Lois Frankel D-Boca Raton, Frederica Wilson D-Miami Gardens, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston are also co-sponsors.
Salazar posted a letter to her congressional website that she sent to Trump pleading with him to offer "Deferred Enforcement Departure" for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
“We must protect the promises made to the people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela with both compassion and security in mind,” she said. “These countries are plagued by communist, repressive dictatorships and gang violence.
"While we restore law and order here at home, DED will allow us to vet these individuals thoroughly, deport those who don’t qualify, and uphold America’s legacy as a beacon of hope.”
WLRN News Staff contributed to this story.
