Supreme Court allows Trump to suspend deportation protections for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday gave the Trump administration the green light to suspend a key immigration program. The program, launched under President Biden, allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to live and work in the U.S. temporarily. The court’s decision could impact over 530,000 individuals.

In a short unsigned order, the justices did not explain their reasoning. This is common for the court’s emergency docket. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

This marks the second time in May that the court sided with Trump on immigration. Earlier, the court allowed the administration to end work permits for Venezuelans under another temporary relief program.

Though not final, Friday’s order lifts a lower court’s block. It enables Trump officials to start deportations even while legal challenges continue.

Justice Jackson issued a sharp dissent. “The majority undervalues the devastating consequences,” she wrote. She argued the decision could upend lives “while their legal claims are pending.” Jackson called the court’s approach “plainly botched.”

Jackson, joined by Sotomayor, said the ruling favors the government too heavily. “The court has now apparently determined that the equity balance weighs in the government’s favor,” she wrote. She criticized the disruption to “the lives of half a million migrants” before the courts decide their claims.

Legal experts warn the decision raises the stakes for other pending immigration cases. “Many migrants may now face removal to countries they fled,” said Steve Vladeck, a Supreme Court analyst and Georgetown Law professor.

He added that another Trump emergency appeal is in progress. That case asks whether the administration can deport migrants to third countries without letting them contest the move.

The humanitarian parole program dates back to the 1950s. President Eisenhower used it to admit Hungarians fleeing Soviet rule. Migrants on parole can stay and work in the U.S. for two years. The status is temporary.

Biden revived the program in 2023 for select migrants from the four nations. Applicants needed a U.S.-based sponsor and had to pass background checks. The aim was to reduce illegal border crossings and offer safe legal pathways.

On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an order to end the program. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued she had the power to revoke the parole status.

Legal questions now focus on process. Can the government cancel parole for all migrants with one policy? Or must it evaluate each case individually?

Federal Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the administration must conduct case-by-case reviews. She blocked the wholesale cancellation. “The administration retains authority to end parole for individuals, but not en masse,” her order said. President Obama nominated Talwani in 2013.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her decision earlier this month. A three-judge panel expressed doubt that Noem could end the program without review. Two judges were Biden appointees; one was an Obama appointee.

The Trump administration argued that lower court blocks interfered with critical policies. “Our decision to end parole is one of the most consequential immigration actions we’ve taken,” the administration said in its Supreme Court filing. Officials warned that court delays “vitiate core executive branch prerogatives.”

This parole case joins over a dozen Trump-era emergency immigration appeals. On May 15, the justices heard arguments on Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship.

The high court has also intervened in other deportation disputes. In one case, it required the return of a Salvadoran man wrongly deported. In another, it halted the rapid removal of Venezuelans in Texas using an 18th-century wartime law.

As the legal battle continues, the lives of hundreds of thousands remain in limbo. Justice Jackson warned the ruling “unravels” their futures while offering no final resolution.

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