A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate a Biden-era program that allowed over half a million migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti to enter the United States.

The ruling came Friday from a three-judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned a lower court decision that had blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to end the so-called CHNV program, according to The Washington Times.

Notably, all three appeals court judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.

The panel concluded that the Department of Homeland Security had provided a sufficient rationale for shutting down the program, which had permitted individuals to enter the country as long as they had a U.S.-based sponsor.

Appeals Court Upholds Trump Administration’s Authority to End Biden Parole Program

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of the Trump administration, allowing the termination of a Biden-era parole program that permitted over 500,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti to enter the United States.

The ruling, issued Friday by a three-judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, overturned a lower court decision that had blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to end the CHNV parole program. Notably, all three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.

Circuit Judge Gustavo Gelpi, writing for the court, criticized District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, for requiring case-by-case reviews of each parolee. “The district court held that the statutory text ‘contemplate[s] termination of parole on an individual, rather than categorical, basis.’ We read the statute differently,” Gelpi wrote.

According to the ruling, roughly 532,000 individuals entered the country through the CHNV program between October 2022 and January 2025. The court concluded that the Department of Homeland Security had provided sufficient reasons for ending the program, noting that it did not serve a significant public benefit, failed to reduce illegal immigration, and did not meet its intended objectives. The program was also deemed inconsistent with the administration’s foreign policy goals.

The court acknowledged the hardships faced by those affected. “Parolees who lawfully arrived in this country were suddenly forced to choose between leaving in less than a month — a choice that potentially includes being separated from their families, communities, and lawful employment and returning to dangers in their home countries,” the ruling said. “But absent a strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits, the risk of such irreparable harms cannot, by itself, support a stay.”

The court ultimately held that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in proving that the Secretary exceeded her discretion under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the program, saying it had been mismanaged by the Biden administration. “They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed,” she said.

“Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” McLaughlin added.