A federal judge declared their intent to issue a restraining order against the government’s termination of the Family Reunification Parole (FRP) program. The judge argues the government failed to properly notify the affected individuals of the program’s termination. Terminating the FRP program is part of a larger government effort to end temporary detainment and removal protections.
FRP is a parole program grants individuals entering the U.S. temporary status if they have a relative who’s a citizen or green card holder. The program mainly applies to individuals from the following countries:
- Colombia.
- Cuba.
- Ecuador.
- El Salvador.
- Guatemala.
- Haiti.
- Honduras.
In total, the program gives detention and removal protection to around ten thousand people. The government argued that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) retains the authority to revoke parole protections at any time. Additionally, the DHS argued that terminating the FRP was in the interest of national security. This is because FRP beneficiaries hadn’t been properly vetted before entering the country. The judge explained that the main issue was how the program was terminated, not the DHS reasoning as to why.
The government argued that announcing the end of the FRP in the federal registry was sufficient. The judge disagreed and issued the block after the DHS failed to produce evidence of any alert sent directly to the affected individuals. It’s uncertain when the block will go into effect, as a start date wasn’t included in the official order.
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