BOSTON, Massachusetts: A federal judge has rejected attempts by the Trump administration to terminate the legal status of more than 8,400 family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders who moved to the United States from seven Latin American countries.

Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani stopped the Department of Homeland Security from ending the humanitarian parole granted to thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

They were in the United States under family reunification programs started or expanded under former President Joe Biden. These programs allowed families to reunite legally.

After Donald Trump became president, his government increased immigration enforcement. It set aside about US$170 billion for immigration agencies through September 2029, the largest amount ever.

Under the family programs, U.S. citizens or green card holders could apply to bring close family members from seven countries to the U.S. These family members could stay in the U.S. while waiting for their visas.

On December 12, the Department of Homeland Security said it was ending these programs. It said the programs did not match Trump's immigration policies and were being misused to let people enter the U.S. without proper checks.

The programs were supposed to end on January 14. But Judge Talwani first stopped the decision for 14 days. Later, she issued a longer block while the court reviews the case.

Judge Talwani said the government did not present proof of fraud and did not consider how difficult it would be for people to return home, mainly since many had sold their houses or quit their jobs. She said the government did not clearly explain why it changed the policy, calling the decision unfair and unreasonable.

The Homeland Security Department did not comment on the ruling.

The decision came from a group lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups against the government's broader effort to cancel temporary legal stays for many migrants.

Earlier, Judge Talwani had also blocked the government from ending legal stays for about 430,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. But the Supreme Court later allowed the government to move forward, and an appeals court later overturned her earlier order.