A federal judge in Boston Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration violated the law when it ended the immigration status of nearly 900,000 migrants who came to the U.S. through a Biden-era parole program called CBP One.
The program allowed migrants waiting in Mexico to schedule an interview to report to a port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. After being vetted, they then were allowed into the country while waiting for their asylum claims to be heard in court.
The Trump administration abruptly cancelled CBP One in April of last year. The administration sent emails to the migrants, notifying them that their status had been revoked, and encouraging them to leave the U.S. as soon as possible.
But U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs, of Boston, said in her ruling that "when Defendants terminated the impacted noncitizens' parole without observing the process mandated by statute and by their own regulations, they took action that was 'not in accordance with law.'"
In a statement to NPR, the Department of Homeland Security called the ruling "blatant judicial activism" that undermines the president's authority.
"Under federal law, DHS had full authority to revoke parole. Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect our national security," the statement said.
CBP One was started in 2023. The ruling applies for all migrants who came into the U.S. using the app from May 16, 2023 to Jan. 19, 2025. Tuesday's ruling reinstates the immigration status of those who came via CBP One and whose status was terminated. This means nearly 900,000 immigrants could be temporarily protected from deportation.
Skye Perryman, the president of Democracy Forward, an organization representing the plaintiffs, called Tuesday's ruling "a clear rejection of an administration that has tried to erase lawful status for hundreds of thousands of people with the click of a button."
"Our clients followed the law: they waited, registered, were inspected, and were granted parole under the law," Perryman said in a statement. "The Trump-Vance administration's effort to tear this status away overnight was unlawful and cruel."
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