Judge pauses expedited deportations of migrants granted humanitarian parole

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Aug 1, 2025, 1:16 PM ET


A federal judge on Friday paused the Trump administration’s efforts to fast-track the deportation of migrants who legally entered the United States through humanitarian parole programs, marking a win for immigrant rights groups who argued the policy was illegal and dangerous.

The ruling temporarily blocks the government from deporting individuals who were granted parole at ports of entry and were later detained — often without warning and in some cases after appearing at immigration courts — despite having valid documents, jobs or other pending forms of relief.

“In a world of bad options, they played by the rules,” wrote Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. “Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here.” “This case’s underlying question … asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules,” Cobb wrote. “Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that … may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?”

In her opinion, Cobb ruled that the policy likely violates the expedited removal statute and is “arbitrary and capricious” under administrative law. The pause will remain in effect while the lawsuit proceeds.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/politics/deportation-migrants-humanitarian-parole