A US federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked an order issued by the Trump Administration that sought to revoke the legal status and work permits of nearly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Issued March 25 by the Department of Homeland Security, the Trump order intended to shut down a program instated by the Biden administration in January 2023 that offered migrants from the four countries temporary legal status in the US for up to two years if they had a US-based financial sponsor and passed security checks.

US District Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2013, wrote in her 41-page order that revoking parole and work authorizations requires a case-by-case review.

“The early termination, without any case-by-case justification, of legal status for noncitizens who have complied with DHS programs and entered the country lawfully, undermines the rule of law,” Talwani wrote in her order.

Talwani’s ruling was the opposite of what the Trump order intended, which was to expire all parolees’ immigration statuses by April 24, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made an individual decision to the contrary. The federal order last month was a continuation of Trump’s executive order, issued his first day in office on January 20, that created a roadmap for “securing our borders.”

“These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals,” the federal government wrote in its March order.

The Justice Action Center and Human Rights First filed Svitlana Doe v. Noem on February 28 on behalf of parolees affected by the federal order.

“Our clients—and our class members—have done everything the government asked of them, and we’re gratified to see that the court will not allow the government to fail to uphold its side of the bargain,” said Karen Tumlin, gounder and director of Justice Action Center in a statement.