Federal judge in Boston blocks Trump administration's effort to revoke status of Haitians, others

A federal judge in Boston issued an order Monday staying the federal government from revoking the legal immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

The humanitarian parole program, sometimes known as CHNV, was terminated by the federal government in March, putting more than half a million immigrants who entered the country legally at risk of deportation by April 24.

Judge Indira Talwani's order prevents immigrants who entered the country lawfully under the program from being deported for now. But CHNV parole status is inherently temporary; those who entered under it are allowed to stay in the U.S. for up to two years.

Attorneys for the federal government have indicated their intention to appeal the order. They had argued in court filings that such an order would be “intruding into the Executive’s exercise of discretionary immigration authority.”

The parole program was created in 2022 as a streamlined legal route for migrants fleeing economic and political instability, persecution and environmental disasters in their home countries. Its goal was to reduce the number of migrants coming through the southwest border, where officials said an "all-time high" number attempted to cross without authorization in 2022. Border crossings dropped sharply in 2024.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it would slash the program for the four nationalities in March, following an executive order by President Trump instructing the agency to do so, among other immigration enforcement actions.

During his campaign, Trump promised to deport millions of people, and as president he has been narrowing legal pathways for immigrants to come and stay in the U.S.