Judge Blocks Trump’s Parole Cut for Immigrants Entering US Legally Using Biden-era App
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday blocked a Trump administration policy that ended temporary amnesty status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were granted the benefit after entering the United States legally through Biden’s mobile app.
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The ruling sought the return of temporary protection immigrants who were found after entering through the CBP One application, according to an order by US District Judge Allison Burroughs of the District of Massachusetts.
More than 900,000 people entered the U.S. legally through CBP One, which scheduled immigration appointments at ports of entry starting in January 2023. Many received amnesty that allowed them to stay in the U.S. for two years and obtain work authorization.
It is not clear how many immigrants who were cut off from amnesty have been deported.
A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety said the organization opposes the decision, calling it “a clear violation of the law.”
“Under federal law, DHS had full authority to revoke the pardons. Canceling these pardons is a promise to the American people to protect our borders and protect our national security,” the DHS statement said.
The judge’s order follows a lawsuit filed last year by groups representing immigrants and immigrants whose parole was terminated. The lawsuit said the mass removal of protection was “unlawful.”
The Trump administration sent an email in April 2025 to parole recipients saying their status had been terminated and urging them to leave the US “immediately.”
“The termination of parole exceeded the agency’s statutory authority and was contrary to the procedures set forth in its regulations,” Burroughs wrote in his order.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement announcing the order: “Today’s decision is a clear rejection of an administration that has tried to erase the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people with the click of a button.”
“Our clients follow the law: they wait, register, vet, and receive amnesty under the law. The Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to end that situation overnight was illegal and cruel — and today, the court struck down that dangerous and disruptive policy.”
Democracy Forward and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute represent immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti who have been granted parole after entering through the CBP One application. They also represent the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, an advocacy group.
Attorneys in the case said the plaintiffs began receiving numerous emails beginning in April 2025 that “were not addressed to any specific recipient, were not signed by any government official, and did not provide an explanation for their withdrawal.”
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” the email began, according to the lawsuit, saying DHS is exercising its right to terminate the status of parole recipients within seven days.
The email said that if parole recipients do not leave the US “immediately,” they will “be subject to enforcement action that could result in your removal from the United States — unless you have found another legal basis to stay here,” according to the lawsuit.
The judge’s order on Monday “brings long-awaited relief after months of fear and uncertainty” to many Venezuelan families, Carlina Velásquez, president of the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, said in a statement. “These are people who followed all the steps required of them, trusted the plan, and built their lives here and were told they had to leave everything behind.”
Shortly after he returned to office, President Donald Trump shut down the CBP One program and canceled all pending appointments.
In early March 2025, the administration announced the CBP Home action plan to encourage immigrants to self-deport and receive “free travel” back to their home countries.
