A federal judge appointed during the Obama administration recently ruled that the Trump administration cannot deport hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans with temporary legal status later this month.

This ruling has become a significant but perhaps temporary obstacle in the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle immigration policies established under the Biden administration.

The ruling involves the "CHNV Humanitarian Parole Program" launched by the Biden administration in October 2022, which allows citizens from these four countries to enter the U.S. with temporary legal status, typically valid for two years, along with work permits. According to the ruling, approximately 532,000 people under this program will temporarily not be deported. Residency permits originally scheduled to be canceled on April 24 will also be postponed as a result.

Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. Federal District Court, who presided over the case, repeatedly questioned the government's rationale for canceling the program during the trial. She pointed out that the government should provide "adequate legal justification" for shortening the parole period, but the current explanation is "based on a misinterpretation of the law."

"These individuals are currently legally residing in the U.S.," Judge Talwani said. "Forcing them into an either-or situation—either leave the U.S. or stay and lose everything—is unreasonable."

She stated that the government's unilateral reversal of an agreement reached with immigrants lacks legality.

Last month, the Trump administration announced the revocation of legal protection for the CHNV program, requiring tens of thousands of immigrants to prepare for departure within 30 days. This move sparked strong backlash among immigration advocacy organizations, who criticized the government's action as "unprecedented" and argued that it deprived immigrants of their legal status and work rights, violating the Federal Administrative Procedure Act.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded by stating that the parole status itself is "temporary" and cannot serve as the basis for applying for long-term legal immigration status. DHS emphasized that if individuals lose their legal residency after the termination of their status, they "must leave" the country.

Although government attorney Brian Ward argued that those whose parole status was canceled can still apply for other immigration programs and that they would not be listed as priority deportation targets, Judge Talwani questioned this: "If these individuals go to the hospital or get into a car accident, they could still be arrested."

Politically, this move has generated little backlash within the Republican Party, with only three Cuban-American congressmen from Florida speaking out. They urged the government to suspend deportations of Venezuelans. Among them, Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar from Miami proposed a bill this week with about 200 Democratic lawmakers to support granting permanent residency to these immigrants.

In fact, the CHNV program was one of the main solutions proposed by the Biden administration to address the border crisis, allowing up to 30,000 individuals per month to enter legally, while reaching an agreement with Mexico to receive an equal number of rejected entrants. The aim of this program was to encourage legal entry while combating illegal border crossings.

However, as Trump returned to the White House and restarted large-scale immigration clearance, this program quickly became a target for reform. The Trump administration referred to the CHNV program as an "abuse of humanitarian parole" and vowed to end what they described as "de facto open borders."

Currently, similar uncertainty looms over the approximately 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the U.S. following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. It is widely believed that the Trump administration is also considering terminating their legal status, despite tensions between Washington and Kyiv.

In the CHNV program, some Haitian and Cuban immigrants can immediately receive federal Medicaid, SNAP food stamps, and welfare benefits. According to estimates by the Daily Mail, the average cost of healthcare alone is about $9,175 per person. If all Haitian beneficiaries qualify, the total expenditure will reach $1.8 billion. Adding SNAP (approximately $451 million) and general welfare benefits (about $1.2 billion), the total welfare spending exceeds $3.4 billion. Even if only a quarter of the beneficiaries actually receive benefits, the expenditure will amount to $850 million.

Moreover, data shows that the review criteria for this program are relatively lenient. In the first half of 2023, the approval rate for Haitian applicants was as high as 98.3%. Out of 78,838 applicants, the Department of Homeland Security reviewed 64,285 cases, approving 63,214 of them. These figures have been widely cited in the lawsuits filed by plaintiffs in more than ten states led by Republicans, who claim that this policy places significant additional costs on local governments in terms of education, healthcare, and public security.

For a long time, the U.S. has struggled to deport illegal immigrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela due to the refusal of these three countries to accept repatriation flights. By contrast, although Haiti accepts some deportees, the country's long-standing political and social instability makes it difficult for the U.S. to implement mass deportations.

Since the end of 2022, more than 500,000 people have entered the U.S. through the CHNV program. For the Trump administration, how to balance the enforcement of deportation orders with maintaining legality will become a key legal and political battleground in the coming months.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493636329327280692/

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