US Court Rejects DHS Parole Cancellation, Upholds Migrants Legal Status

Caracas, May 7, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – A US federal court has blocked the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to terminate temporary legal status granted to thousands of Latin American migrants by the previous Biden administration.

The ruling by the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals stated that US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem does not have “unreviewable discretion” to terminate a two-year parole “on other than a case-by-case basis.” The ruling follows an earlier decision from Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani that granted a temporary stay for immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti.

The Trump administration criticized the decision, arguing that it forces the US government to “retain hundreds of thousands of aliens in the country against its will.”

The legal setback against the White House’s mass deportations marks the latest clash between the executive and judiciary. The US government could face contempt charges for ignoring court orders that temporarily blocked deportations under the 1789 Alien Enemies Act, as well as attempts to end temporary protected status (TPS) and humanitarian parole—legal categories that grant migrants a temporary but lawful stay in the US.

In his second term, President Trump launched a massive deportation effort, particularly targeting Venezuelans, denying them due process.

Since March, the US government has deported 252 Venezuelan men to El Salvador’s CECOT prison under the Alien Enemies Act—an 18th-century wartime statute that allows the president to detain and deport nationals of an “enemy” nation. The 252 men were accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua criminal gang but denied an opportunity to contest the accusations. 

Caracas has condemned the widespread criminalization of its migrants and asserted that Venezuelan authorities dismantled Tren de Aragua’s operations in recent years.

Investigations have shown that most of these individuals had no criminal record in the US, while gang allegations were based on basic profiling such as tattoos, a methodology that has been criticized by experts. Washington has sustained, without evidence, that the Venezuelan government has deliberately sent gang members to “invade” and “destabilize” the US.

A newly declassified memo dated April 7, 2025, released on Monday, revealed that US intelligence agencies found no evidence linking the Nicolás Maduro government to the criminal organization.

“Intelligence indicating that [Venezuelan] regime leaders are directing or enabling TDA migration to the United States is not credible,” the memo stated.

The memo further noted that the assessment is based on Venezuelan law enforcement actions “demonstrating that the regime views TDA as a threat.”

Moreover, the leaked document acknowledged that although the gang may have expanded to other countries during Venezuela’s migration wave in recent years, its small, decentralized cells make it “highly unlikely” that it is coordinating large-scale human trafficking or migrant smuggling into the US.

The lawyers and families of the deported Venezuelan migrants imprisoned in El Salvador have consistently denied criminal activities, with some testimonies revealing they were forced to sign documents admitting gang allegations. They have filed appeals before Salvadoran authorities demanding the detainees’ release.

Some cases have exposed the lack of due process. In January, 32-year-old Venezuelan Ricardo Prada Vásquez was detained by US authorities after making a wrong turn while delivering a food order in Detroit, accidentally crossing the Canadian border. His whereabouts are unknown since then and relatives believe he could have been sent to El Salvador.

Two-year-old Venezuelan Maikelys Antonella Espinoza Bernal was separated from her parents after entering the US in May 2024 and placed in foster care. Her father and mother were later accused of being gang criminals and deported to El Salvador and Venezuela, respectively. The US has failed to sustain these claims.

Caracas is demanding the toddler’s immediate return to Venezuela, while the country’s Attorney General’s Office has assigned a team to investigate the case.

The Trump administration reportedly proposed a deal that would see Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele detain up to 500 Venezuelans alleged gang members in the country’s mega prison, paying $20,000 per inmate annually. In an April meeting, both leaders ratified the agreement.

Caracas welcomes back more migrants

The Maduro government has continued to facilitate the return of migrants deported from the US. On May 2, two planes carrying 357 Venezuelans in total departed Texas and landed in Caracas.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that Washington sent 48 fewer than the planned 222 deportees in the first flight, calling the US “disorder” on the “sensitive issue” unacceptable.

According to government sources, approximately 3,672 Venezuelans, most of them directly from the US and others from México and Honduras, have returned to Venezuela in the past three months as part of the Maduro administration’s repatriation efforts.

Edited by José Luis Granados Ceja in Mexico City, Mexico.