A federal judge on Friday paused the Trump administration’s efforts to fast-track the deportation of migrants who legally entered the United States through humanitarian parole programs, marking a win for immigrant rights groups who argued the policy was illegal and dangerous.

Since President Donald Trump took office, agencies in charge of implementing the president's immigration agenda have expanded the use of expedited removals. Under President Joe Biden, the process typically applied to migrants who had entered the U.S. within 14 days and within 100 miles of the border.

The ruling halted the Trump administration from pursuing the deportation of hundreds of thousands of migrants accepted into the United States, who now retain only minimal legal safeguards.