Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan for Over 500,000 Immigrants

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plan to revoke legal status from 532,000 immigrants from four Latin American countries. The ruling defends Biden’s parole program and criticizes Trump’s interpretation of immigration law, preventing mass deportations that were set to begin on April 24.

A federal judge has halted the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke the legal status of over 532,000 immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti, delivering a major blow to the president’s immigration crackdown. The decision came Monday from District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who ruled that the administration's move was based on a flawed interpretation of immigration law.

The immigrants at risk were part of a parole program launched under President Joe Biden in 2022, which allowed up to 30,000 individuals per month from the four countries to enter the United States legally for humanitarian reasons. These nations are often cited for serious human rights violations, and the program aimed to provide temporary refuge while ensuring migrants entered through a regulated process.

In March 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to terminate this parole protection, putting thousands at risk of deportation. Legal protection was set to expire by April 24, only 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security published the termination notice. Judge Talwani, however, granted emergency relief, preventing the termination from taking effect.

In her ruling, Talwani emphasized that expedited removal applies only to individuals who entered the country illegally—not those lawfully admitted under a government-run parole program. She found the administration’s attempt to bypass this distinction not only legally questionable but potentially harmful to people who had followed all legal procedures.

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The court's decision stalls Trump’s pledge to deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants during his second term. It also signals increasing judicial resistance to the administration’s hardline immigration policies, particularly those impacting Latin American migrants.