A federal judge with deep ties to prominent Democrats has blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to deport over half a million migrants paroled into the United States under the Biden administration—igniting concerns over partisan influence in the judiciary.
Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by Barack Obama, issued a ruling halting the deportation of approximately 530,000 migrants from countries including Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. These individuals had been granted parole under Biden-era policies that the Trump administration argues blatantly violate immigration law.
What’s fueling further outrage is Judge Talwani’s well-documented political history. Before joining the bench, she donated to Democratic campaigns, including those of Obama, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and former Senator John Kerry. She also volunteered for both Obama’s 2008 campaign and Warren’s 2012 Senate run—raising serious questions about impartiality in high-stakes immigration rulings.
Critics say this is yet another case of politically motivated judicial interference, undermining efforts by the Trump administration to restore lawful immigration practices and secure the southern border.
“This is judicial activism, plain and simple,” one administration official said. “The judge has a clear political record, and now she’s using her position to block the will of the American people.”
The migrants protected by the ruling have been clustered in towns across the U.S., transforming the demographics of places like Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, where large Haitian populations have settled in just over a year. Local officials have expressed concerns over strained public services, rising housing demands, and education system overloads.
This isn’t the first time Judge Talwani has drawn criticism for rulings that align closely with left-wing agendas. In 2019, she blocked ICE from arresting illegal aliens on courthouse grounds in Massachusetts, a decision that critics say directly hampered immigration enforcement. More recently, she sided with a school district that punished a middle school student for wearing a T-shirt stating “There are only two genders,” supporting the school’s claim that the shirt violated its dress code.
The Trump administration has made clear it intends to challenge Talwani’s ruling and pursue every legal avenue to ensure that immigration laws are enforced. Officials say the administration will not allow politically motivated judges to override national security interests or the rule of law.
The case is a glaring example of what conservatives have long warned about: the weaponization of the judicial system to advance partisan goals. While the Biden-era parole program allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to bypass normal immigration channels, efforts to reverse those policies are now being stymied by judges with open political loyalties.
As legal battles continue to unfold, the administration’s message is unambiguous: the law is the law—and no judge, no matter how politically connected, is above it.