(MENAFN) A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to immediately resume processing several immigration applications, ruling that the administration’s pause jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of immigrants’ legal status is contrary to public interest.

US District Judge Indira Talwani’s decision safeguards numerous immigrants from countries including Afghanistan, Latin America, and Ukraine, whose lawful authorization to reside and work in the United States had been imperiled by the Trump-era restrictions.

The dispute centers on immigration parole programs—temporary humanitarian or public interest entry permits—that Trump officials sought to curtail, claiming the Biden administration had excessively relied on these measures.

Earlier in April, Judge Talwani issued a similar ruling defending a vital parole program that enabled over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to live and work lawfully in the U.S.—a program likewise halted by the pause.

"This court emphasizes, as it did in its prior order, that it is not in the public interest to manufacture a circumstance in which hundreds of thousands of individuals will, over the course of several months, become unlawfully present in the country, such that these individuals cannot legally work in their communities or provide for themselves and their families," Talwani said in the order.

She also highlighted that the Trump administration’s sweeping attempt to rescind protections for immigrants already granted status represented a severe escalation, poised to trigger significant disruption nationwide.

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