Federal Judge Orders Reinstatement of Parole for 900,000 Migrants

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated the temporary parole status of more than 900,000 migrants who entered the United States legally through a mobile app introduced during the Biden administration, ordering the Department of Homeland Security to reinstate their protections.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issued the decision in a class-action lawsuit brought by immigration advocacy groups and affected individuals from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti. The suit challenged the administration's decision to revoke parole en masse, arguing it exceeded statutory authority and violated agency procedures. Burroughs wrote that the terminations lacked the required rationale from the DHS secretary that the original purposes of the parole had been served.

The case centered on the CBP One app, launched in January 2023 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to manage migrant arrivals at ports of entry along the southern border. The app allowed asylum seekers and others to schedule appointments for inspection, after which many received humanitarian parole. This status permitted them to remain in the country for up to two years and...