Trump’s DOJ Appeals to End Immigration Parole Program

President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the administration to terminate the parole program established by former President Joe Biden, which has reportedly brought over 500,000 immigrants into the country.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration cancelled the immigration status for around 530,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who were admitted through Biden’s CHNV parole program.

In response, two non-governmental organizations, partially funded by the Open Society Foundation, took legal action to retain the parole program.

US District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by Obama, sided with one of these NGOs and issued a ruling that prevented the Trump administration from abolishing the CHNV program. Some reports have noted her previous connections with Democratic Party efforts, including Obama’s campaign.

Recently, Attorney General John Sauer submitted an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, advocating for the reversal of Talwani’s decision and the cessation of the parole pipeline.

Sauer argued that the appeal is aimed at addressing the instability in immigration case rulings that has arisen recently.

The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the Secretary of Homeland Security considerable latitude in immigration decisions, specifically permitting case-by-case parole grants for significant humanitarian reasons or public interest. This act previously allowed the categorical parole for over 532,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. However, in March, the Secretary revoked this blanket grant while keeping the option for individual case considerations. The district court then ruled that revoking the categorical grant without evaluating each case individually was beyond the Secretary’s power, effectively putting a stop to the policy. The court emphasized the need to uphold established district court orders.

The issues surrounding Biden’s parole program have also revealed instances of significant fraud and misuse.

A recent report from the Department of Efficiency indicated that immigrants on a “terrorist watchlist” have been able to access Medicaid benefits upon being released into the U.S. via the CHNV program. The report cited that 905 immigrants, including several from the watchlist, have claimed over $276,000 in taxpayer-funded assistance.

Additionally, 41 individuals received unemployment benefits amounting to $42,000, and 22 immigrants were found to have received tax refunds totaling $751,000 along with several food stamp benefits in 2024.

According to Antonio Gracias from the Department of Efficiency, some of these immigrants have also been registered to vote, with evidence suggesting that many actually cast ballots in the last presidential election.

“We checked the voter rolls and discovered that thousands were registered in certain states,” Gracias remarked. “On examining those states, we found that many had indeed participated in the election, which was astonishing.”