A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration to restore parole status to migrants who entered the U.S. through the Biden-era CBP One app.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled on March 31, 2026, that the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully terminated parole on a mass basis in April 2025 without the individualized determinations required by statute and agency regulations.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs was nominated by President Barack Obama on July 31, 2014, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 16, 2014 (by voice vote) and received her commission on December 19, 2014.
The order directs DHS to reinstate parole status and associated work authorization for affected individuals.
Up to 900,000 Biden CBP One Migrants Set to Regain Parole and Work Permits
Implementation is ongoing. The Trump administration is expected to appeal, and the practical effects (e.g., how quickly DHS must restore statuses and implement system updates for work authorization) may take time and could face further legal challenges.
The ruling applies to migrants who used the CBP One app between May 16, 2023, and January 19, 2025, and who remain in the United States. Estimates of those potentially impacted reach up to 900,000.
This week’s order now requires the DHS to reverse those cancellations, immediately restoring both parole status and work authorization for nearly a million of those immigrants who entered America under the Biden administration’s mobile phone application process.
The ruling undercuts Trump’s “CBP Home” program, which was rolled out in early 2025 to replace the old Biden-era CBP One app.
The new CBP Home platform was reportedly created to make it easier for people to leave the country voluntarily. DHS describes it as “a historic opportunity for illegal aliens to receive cost-free travel, forgiveness of any failure to depart fines, and a $2,600 exit bonus to facilitate travel back to their home country or another country where they have lawful status through the CBP Home Mobile App.”
According to Judge Burroughs’ ruling, the migrants impacted by her order had mainly entered the U.S. between May 2023 and January 2025, and mostly from Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti.
Biden’s CBP One App: The Open Border Loophole
The CBP One app was introduced under Biden as a smartphone app allowing migrants to schedule their legal entry appointments at a collection of ports of entry across the country. At its peak, the program processed more than a million applications, according to a December 2024 update from the CBP. This granted applicants temporary parole and the ability to work legally in America while their immigration cases continued, and they individually attended hearings over time.
Critics, including Trump, have argued that the app served as a loophole that allowed unvetted immigrants to enter the country in mass, bypassing crucial screening steps. When Trump took office in January 2025, his administration moved to shut down CBP One and cancel the parole of those who had used it, which occurred in April of that same year – a decision Judge Burroughs has now ruled was unlawful.
Biden’s CBP One App Linked to Violent Crimes
The Dallas Express has reported on crimes committed by individuals who entered the country through the CBP One app, raising questions about the program’s vetting standards. Below are a few examples of prior coverage by DX, spotlighting criminal activity by applicants who entered the country using the Biden-era app.
- Venezuelan Illegal Alien Accused of Double Murder in Charlotte (March 2026): A 22-year-old Venezuelan national, Angelvis Jesus Quintero Fernandez, entered the U.S. in July 2023 via CBP One and was later charged with two separate murders in Charlotte, North Carolina. Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis even cited his entry as a direct consequence of the Biden administration’s CBP One program.
- ICE Arrests Two Illegal Aliens in Austin Murder of Texas Woman (October 2025): Federal agents arrested Jesus Llamas-Yanez and Javier Roman Hernandez in connection with the killing of 43-year-old Mary Gonzales in Austin, with DHS confirming at least one of the suspects entered the country through CBP One. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that those prior open-border policies had directly enabled the tragedy.
- Biden’s Reckless Immigration Policy Linked to Brutal Garland Killing (August 2025): Three Venezuelan nationals released into the U.S. under the Biden administration — two of them via CBP One — were charged with the capital murder of 48-year-old Santiago Lopez Morales at a Garland motel, following a long crime spree targeting women at other hotels and motels within the area.
