The Trump administration, on Thursday, sought intervention from the Supreme Court to terminate humanitarian parole for over 500,000 immigrants originating from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, setting the stage for their potential deportation. The administration appealed to the justices to overturn a lower court ruling that maintained temporary legal status for these individuals.
The administration argued that the lower courtโs decision improperly interfered with the Department of Homeland Securityโs (DHS) jurisdiction. Solicitor General John Sauer noted, โThe district court has nullified one of the administrationโs most consequential immigration policy decisions.โ The appeal stems from a ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, which blocked the administrationโs attempt to terminate the temporary legal status of these migrants prematurely.
Judge Talwani, appointed by President Barack Obama, concluded that the administrationโs rationale for ending the program was โbased on an incorrect reading of the law.โ Her judgment also highlighted the difficult choices facing people under the program, who are forced to choose between โfleeing the countryโ or โstaying and risking everything.โ As a result, the administration turned to the Supreme Court after an appellate court refused to lift Talwaniโs order.
In defense, Sauer contended that Judge Talwaniโs ruling misinterpreted legal statutes, particularly regarding the necessity of case-by-case revocation of parole. He argued that promptly ending the program aligns with policy goals by expediting the deportation process. This situation is one among many emergency appeals the administration has directed to the Supreme Court, primarily surrounding immigration issues.
Last week, the administration sought court consent to remove temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans and continues to be embroiled in legal disputes over deportations linked to gang affiliations, referencing the Alien Enemies Act. Initially, President Trump pledged to remove millions of undocumented individuals, while the administration has been focusing on dismantling legal pathways established during President Joe Bidenโs tenure.
President Biden extensively utilized humanitarian parole, more than any previous president, by enabling over half a million individuals from these four countries to come to the U.S. legally with two-year work permits since late 2022. Advocates have criticized the Trump administrationโs move as โunprecedented,โ claiming it violates federal rule-making processes.