WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration’s efforts to expand fast-track deportations of immigrants who legally entered the U.S. under a process known as humanitarian parole — a ruling that could benefit hundreds of thousands of people.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its statutory authority in its effort to expand “expedited removal” for many immigrants. The judge said those immigrants are facing perils that outweigh any harm from “pressing pause” on the administration's plans.
The case “presents a question of fair play” for people fleeing oppression and violence in their home countries, Cobb said in her 84-page order.
“In a world of bad options, they played by the rules,” she wrote. “Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here, restricting their ability to seek immigration relief and subjecting them to summary removal despite statutory law prohibiting the Executive Branch from doing so.”
Fast-track deportations allow immigration officers to remove somebody from the U.S. without seeing a judge first. In immigration cases, parole allows somebody applying for admission to the U.S. to enter the country without being held in detention.
Immigrants' advocacy groups sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to challenge three recent DHS agency actions that expanded expedited removal. A surge of arrests at immigration courts highlights the lawsuit’s high stakes.
The judge's ruling applies to any non-citizen who has entered the U.S. through the parole process at a port of entry. She suspended the challenged DHS actions until the case's conclusion.
Cobb said the case’s “underlying question” is whether people who escaped oppression will have the chance to “plead their case within a system of rules.”
“Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that — as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges — may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?” she added.
A plaintiffs' attorney, Justice Action Center legal director Esther Sung, described the ruling as a “huge win” for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families. Sung said many people are afraid to attend routine immigration hearings out of fear of getting arrested.
“Hopefully this decision will alleviate that fear,” Sung said.
Since May, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have positioned themselves in hallways to arrest people after judges accept government requests to dismiss deportation cases. After being arrested, the government renews deportation proceedings but under fast-track authority.
President Donald Trump sharply expanded fast-track authority in January, allowing immigration officers to deport someone without first seeing a judge. Although fast-track deportations can be put on hold by filing an asylum claim, people may be unaware of that right and, even if they are, can be swiftly removed if they fail an initial screening.
“Expedited removal” was created under a 1996 law and has been used widely for people stopped at the border since 2004. Trump attempted to expand those powers nationwide to anyone in the country less than two years in 2019 but was held up in court. His latest efforts amount to a second try.
ICE exercised its expanded authority sparingly at first during Trump’s second term but has since relied on it for aggressive enforcement in immigration courts and in “workplace raids,” according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Spagat reported from San Diego.
Federal agents escort a man to a transport bus after he was detained following an appearance at immigration court, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 22, 2025--
Today, Competitive Power Ventures’ (CPV) affiliate CPV Renewable Power and its strategic investment partner Harrison Street Asset Management (HSAM) announced the start of commercial operations at CPV Backbone Solar, a 160-megawatt (MW) solar project located in Garrett County, Maryland. In parallel, CPV secured its third solar tax equity financing with U.S. Bank. Marathon Capital served as advisor, emphasizing the project’s quality and CPV’s leading role in developing utility-scale renewable projects.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251222976556/en/
Situated on a reclaimed, decommissioned coal mine, the 324,000 panels at CPV Backbone Solar are designed to produce enough energy to power 30,000 households, repurposing the land and providing needed generation to the state.
“CPV Backbone Solar exemplifies our mission to support a responsible energy transition,” said Sherman Knight, CEO of CPV. “By transforming exhausted coal mine land into a productive solar facility, we’re demonstrating how brownfield redevelopment, innovative engineering, and strategic partnerships can meet complex project challenges and deliver new power generation in Maryland.”
“At CPV, we look for ways to invest in energy communities where our projects can have the greatest impact. Garrett County provided the necessary criteria for us to bring CPV Backbone Solar to Western Maryland,” said Mike Resca, EVP of CPV Renewable Power. “This project adds significant tax revenue to Garrett County, and we look forward to being partners for years to come.”
“CPV Backbone Solar demonstrates the role utility-scale renewable infrastructure can play in meeting growing power demand,” said Carolyn Arida, Senior Managing Director of Infrastructure and Co-Portfolio Manager at Harrison Street Asset Management. “We value our partnership with CPV and look forward to continued collaboration as we expand our portfolio of contracted renewable projects nationwide.”
CPV Backbone Solar was constructed by Vanguard Energy Partners, a leading solar engineering, procurement, construction firm.
“We appreciate the continued partnership with CPV and the opportunity to bring the CPV Backbone Solar project to completion. This was a complex site, and our teams stayed focused, resilient, and committed from start to finish to safely deliver a high-quality project,” said Geoffrey Fairclough, President of Vanguard Energy Partners.
Supporting Maryland’s Clean Energy Goals & Energy Communities
“In a time where we are pushing for economic development across our state and job creation, it is great to see the CPV Backbone Solar project come online,” said Senator Michael McKay. “We look forward to CPV’s continued investment in our communities.”
“I’m excited to see the CPV solar project come online. Not only does it return previously mined land to use and add to the County’s tax base, it brings a new source of power to the grid at a time when demand for electricity is growing,” said Delegate Jim Hinebaugh, Jr.
CPV Backbone Solar began development in 2020. Throughout the process, CPV has worked to build strong, lasting relationships with local stakeholders to make a positive impact in Garrett County.
“We’re happy to see this reach commercial operations,” said Board Chairman of Garrett County, Paul Edwards. “By bringing this project to Garrett County, CPV is helping to preserve our region’s natural beauty while creating new economic value for our residents. It’s a win-win for us and the environment.”
The project also includes investments to enhance community and environmental stewardship, including a $100,000 contribution over a four-year period to the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation to help strengthen long-term vitality of the region’s natural resource.
"CPV's generosity has been very helpful in supporting our projects to maintain and protect the Deep Creek Watershed,” said Bob Hoffmann, President of the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation. “We at the Foundation appreciate the company's commitment to environmental and local stewardship."
CPV Backbone Solar joins four operating wind and solar projects in the company’s renewable portfolio alongside a development pipeline of 4.8 GW. A planned second phase has started construction and is projected to expand the facility’s total installed capacity to 175 MW.
About CPV
CPV Group LP, a partnership majority owned by OPC Energy Ltd., has over 25 years of unprecedented success in the development and operation of highly efficient and low emitting electric generation and renewable projects in the United States. CPV is focused on applying its development, financial and project management expertise to advance the next generation of technologies. After bringing on 6.8 GW of natural gas, wind, and solar generation since 2010 and with a current pipeline of over 10 GW of renewable and dispatchable generation projects, including utility-scale carbon capture, CPV is well positioned to help drive the nation’s decarbonization goals forward. For more information: please visit www.cpv.com and follow CPV onLinkedIn.
About OPC Energy
OPC Energy Ltd. (OPCE:Tel Aviv) is an energy company leading the Energy Transition revolution in Israel and the United States and provides electricity in an efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly manner while combining solar energy, wind and natural gas with high efficiency. In Israel, OPC is the first and leading private electricity producer, offering its customers an integrated energy solution that includes the supply of all energy needs through the company’s production sites and in the customer’s yard using natural gas and solar energy. In the U.S., the company operates through the CPV Group, which supplies electricity using efficient natural gas and wind energy, and also builds and develops Powerhouse using natural gas, natural gas with reduced emissions, as well as solar and wind energy. For more information: please visitwww.opc-energy.com/en
About Harrison Street Asset Management
Harrison Street Asset Management is a leading global alternative investment management firm with over $108 billion in assets under management through highly differentiated assets across real estate, infrastructure, and credit strategies. Headquartered in Chicago, Toronto and London with over 600 employees in offices across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the firm offers innovative solutions across a variety of closed-end, open-end and specialized vehicles on behalf of 1,200+ institutional and over 300+ Registered Investment Advisors. 1
1 HSAM data and descriptions of HSAM’s business are generally comprised of the aggregated data and business activities of investment advisors that are owned in whole or in part by HSAM. Assets under management (“AUM”) reflects the AUM for the investment advisory and asset management clients of such investment advisors and is inclusive of the regulatory AUM of such investment advisors that is reported in their respective Form ADVs.
CPV Backbone Solar repurposes former coal mine land. Photo courtesy of Competitive Power Ventures
