Politics
NEW: Anti-Trump Judge Caught At Center Of Growing Scandal
A federal judge who recently blocked President Trump’s move to end a Biden-era immigration parole program is facing new scrutiny—not just over her ruling, but her political background and links to a controversial group with ties to communist China.
Judge Indira Talwani, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Barack Obama in 2013, issued a decision halting the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate the CHNV program, which granted temporary legal status to over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
But as conservatives raise alarms about the ruling, newly unearthed records are painting a fuller picture of Talwani’s political past—and it’s raising eyebrows.
Public documents reveal that Talwani volunteered for at least four Democratic campaigns, including those of Deval Patrick, Barack Obama, Martha Coakley, and Elizabeth Warren. Her involvement ranged from holding campaign signs and knocking on doors to making phone calls, including efforts to boost Obama’s 2008 presidential run and Warren’s 2012 Senate campaign.
via X
Natalie Winters of the National Pulse noted Monday that the CPA “has deep ties to the CCP,” and was founded by operatives with Maoist backgrounds. One founder, Fay Wong, even praised the Chinese Communist revolution, calling it “very inspiring.”
The resurfacing of these details coincides with another point of controversy: Talwani’s past ties to the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), an organization with documented sympathies toward the Chinese Communist Party. In 2012, just a year before her judicial nomination, Talwani accepted the CPA’s “Workers Justice Award”—an honor she still lists among her official credentials.
Talwani’s ruling, delivered in a 41-page opinion on Monday, effectively paused the rollback of the CHNV parole program. The program, a Biden administration initiative, allowed nationals from the four aforementioned countries to stay in the U.S. for up to two years if they passed background checks and secured U.S.-based sponsors.
“If their parole status is allowed to lapse, Plaintiffs will be faced with two unfavorable options: continue following the law and leave the country on their own, or await removal proceedings,” Talwani wrote. “For some Plaintiffs, leaving will also cause family separation.”
Progressive activists praised the decision. Karen Tumlin, director of the Justice Action Center, said the ruling offered “a huge sigh of relief” for families across the country.
But the reaction on the right was far different.
Talwani’s judicial record has previously aligned with progressive positions, particularly on labor and immigration issues. Her involvement in Democratic campaigns—especially her work for Warren and Obama—only adds fuel to concerns from Trump supporters that the judiciary is being used as a political weapon.
The Department of Homeland Security, now led by Secretary Kristi Noem, has already begun rolling back other Biden-era protections, including Temporary Protected Status for migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Cameroon.
