A dramatic, late-night ruling in Boston has put the brakes on one of the Trump administration’s most sweeping immigration roll-backs. In an order released on January 9 2026, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said she will issue an injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from terminating seven “family-reunification parole” (FRP) programs on January 14. The programs—created during the Biden administration for Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Colombia and Ecuador—allow approved beneficiaries of immigrant-visa petitions to wait for their green cards inside the United States, living and working lawfully with their U.S. relatives. About 10,000-12,000 Latin-American beneficiaries were days away from losing status and work authorization when the court stepped in. (reuters.com)
Talwani found DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by providing no advance notice or public comment period before scrapping the program. She also faulted the agency for mischaracterising the parolees as “improperly vetted,” noting that each applicant had already cleared criminal-history, security and medical screening identical to that required for immigrant visas. “These individuals were following the rules Congress set,” Talwani wrote, calling DHS’s planned cancellation “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”
For employers, the injunction averts an HR nightmare: thousands of employees and job candidates—many holding valid Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) through FRP—can continue working without interruption. Multinationals with Latin-American talent pipelines had warned that sudden loss of work authorization would disrupt production lines, customer-service centers and R&D labs in at least nine states. Immigration counsel now advise companies to keep FRP beneficiaries on payroll but monitor the litigation closely; the administration is expected to appeal.
![Federal Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Plan to Cancel Family-Reunification Parole Programs]()
Strategically, the ruling complicates President Trump’s broader push to rescind most humanitarian parole programs. The White House says it will publish a new, shorter notice-and-comment period, but advocates vow to challenge any “rush job.” Long term, Congress could codify FRP or replace it with visa-recapture legislation—but such fixes remain remote in an election year.
Individuals and companies looking to navigate these shifting rules can streamline paperwork through VisaHQ, an online visa-processing platform that tracks real-time government updates and offers concierge filing support. By starting a free profile at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/ applicants receive reminders about parole renewals, work-permit expirations and interview scheduling, while HR teams gain a dashboard that flags compliance risks across multiple employees.
For affected families, the injunction buys time—but not certainty. Attorneys recommend using the reprieve to advance underlying immigrant-visa cases, renew work permits for the full two-year maximum, and, where possible, explore employment-based alternatives that provide more durable status. Companies should prepare template support letters now, in case parole renewals become necessary on short notice.
Talwani found DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by providing no advance notice or public comment period before scrapping the program. She also faulted the agency for mischaracterising the parolees as “improperly vetted,” noting that each applicant had already cleared criminal-history, security and medical screening identical to that required for immigrant visas. “These individuals were following the rules Congress set,” Talwani wrote, calling DHS’s planned cancellation “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”
For employers, the injunction averts an HR nightmare: thousands of employees and job candidates—many holding valid Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) through FRP—can continue working without interruption. Multinationals with Latin-American talent pipelines had warned that sudden loss of work authorization would disrupt production lines, customer-service centers and R&D labs in at least nine states. Immigration counsel now advise companies to keep FRP beneficiaries on payroll but monitor the litigation closely; the administration is expected to appeal.
Strategically, the ruling complicates President Trump’s broader push to rescind most humanitarian parole programs. The White House says it will publish a new, shorter notice-and-comment period, but advocates vow to challenge any “rush job.” Long term, Congress could codify FRP or replace it with visa-recapture legislation—but such fixes remain remote in an election year.
Individuals and companies looking to navigate these shifting rules can streamline paperwork through VisaHQ, an online visa-processing platform that tracks real-time government updates and offers concierge filing support. By starting a free profile at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/ applicants receive reminders about parole renewals, work-permit expirations and interview scheduling, while HR teams gain a dashboard that flags compliance risks across multiple employees.
For affected families, the injunction buys time—but not certainty. Attorneys recommend using the reprieve to advance underlying immigrant-visa cases, renew work permits for the full two-year maximum, and, where possible, explore employment-based alternatives that provide more durable status. Companies should prepare template support letters now, in case parole renewals become necessary on short notice.
