By Joyce Nzomo
A federal appeals court has upheld the Trump administration’s decision to revoke temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants, reversing an earlier ruling that had blocked the move.
On Friday, the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who in April held that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to terminate the immigration “parole” program.
The program, introduced during President Joe Biden’s administration, had granted temporary legal status to nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The appellate court’s decision came months after the U.S. Supreme Court placed Talwani’s ruling on hold in May, allowing the Trump administration’s termination to take effect while the legal battle continued.
Writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, Judge Gustavo Gelpí said the plaintiffs immigrant rights advocates had not demonstrated that Noem acted outside her powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act. All three judges on the panel were appointed by Democratic presidents.
The parole program was first introduced in 2022, allowing Venezuelans arriving by air to apply for two years of legal stay if they passed security checks and had U.S.-based sponsors.
In 2023, the initiative expanded to Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans. Between October 2022 and January 2025, about 532,000 migrants received parole through the scheme. However, in March 2025, Noem terminated the program, impacting approximately 430,000 people.
Judge Gelpí acknowledged that the decision left many migrants facing a stark choice: return to unstable home countries or remain in the United States without legal status, risking detention and deportation.
Esther Sung, a lawyer with the Justice Action Center representing the plaintiffs, described the ruling as “devastating” but noted that it was narrow and left room for further litigation. “There’s still room for us to prevail as the litigation continues and moves to final judgment,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet issued a response, while the Justice Department defended the administration’s move, urging the appeals court to align with the Supreme Court’s earlier stay.
The case now continues toward a final judgment, with significant implications for the future of U.S. immigration policy and the legal standing of hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Courtesy of Reuters News
