US judge blocks plan to end legal status for 8,400 migrants

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping the Department of Homeland Security from ending humanitarian parole for about 8,400 family members from seven countries; the court said the department provided no reasoned explanation for the policy change as it reviewed fraud and returnability concerns.

A federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security from ending humanitarian parole for more than 8,400 family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Those people arrived under family reunification parole programs created or modernized under the Biden administration and come from seven countries: Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. DHS announced on Dec. 12 that it would end the programs, saying they were inconsistent with its immigration priorities and had been abused. Judge Indira Talwani wrote that the department provided no support for its fraud concerns or consideration of whether individuals could feasibly return to their home countries and described the change as arbitrary and capricious. Key facts: - The injunction prevents DHS from terminating humanitarian parole for about 8,400 people from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. - The family reunification programs allowed U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to sponsor relatives to live in the United States while they waited for immigrant visas. - DHS announced the termination on Dec. 12 and had set a Jan. 14 effective date; a temporary restraining order briefly blocked that date before the longer injunction. - The ruling arose in a class action by immigrant rights advocates challenging broader rollbacks of temporary parole; an earlier injunction in a related part of the case affecting about 430,000 migrants was lifted by the Supreme Court and later overturned by an appeals court. Summary: The injunction keeps humanitarian parole in place for the affected migrants while the court evaluates whether the department followed required procedures. It preserves the current status for those individuals and leaves the broader legal challenge ongoing. Undetermined at this time.