NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Boston, MA, April 12, 2025: In a major victory for immigrant communities, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled this week that the U.S. government cannot move forward with revoking humanitarian protections for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The Trump administration’s policy, which sought to dismantle legal protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants, was found to be in violation of proper legal standards.
In her ruling, Judge Talwani stated that the Department of Homeland Security had “misapplied the law” in its attempt to terminate legal status for these groups. “The process by which the government attempted to revoke protections was fundamentally flawed and lacked the necessary procedural safeguards,” she wrote in her decision.
The case involved migrants who were granted legal status under various humanitarian programs such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and humanitarian parole, many of whom have lived and worked in the United States for years. The Trump administration’s efforts to rescind these protections sparked widespread concern among immigrant advocacy groups and legal experts.
Immigration rights organizations applauded the ruling, calling it a crucial step in upholding justice and preventing the forced return of vulnerable populations to countries experiencing political and economic instability.
“This is a huge relief for thousands of families who have been living in uncertainty,” said Maria Escobar, an immigration attorney in Boston. “Judge Talwani’s ruling not only protects these communities but reinforces the importance of proper legal procedure.”
Judge Indira Talwani, who presides over the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, was appointed to the federal bench in 2014 by President Barack Obama. She is among the few Indian American women to serve in the federal judiciary and is widely respected for her legal acumen and commitment to civil rights.
Born in 1960, Talwani graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and earned her law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Before her judicial appointment, she worked for nearly two decades at the Boston-based law firm Segal Roitman LLP, specializing in employment and labor law.
