A federal judge who just blocked the Trump administration from ending a Biden-era immigration parole program is now under fire for past ties to a controversial organization with well-documented sympathies toward communist China.

Judge Indira Talwani, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, halted efforts by Homeland Security to terminate a program allowing over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to remain in the U.S. under temporary parole. What’s now resurfacing is her connection to the Chinese Progressive Association—a group linked to Chinese Communist Party influence.

Talwani received the CPA’s Workers Justice Award in 2012, a fact listed in her own judicial honors record. The award was handed out just one year before her nomination to the federal bench by then-President Barack Obama in September 2013.

The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) has a long history of CCP-aligned activity. Journalist Natalie Winters reported Monday, “The Chinese Progressive Association gave Judge Indira Talwani its Workers Justice award in 2012. This group has deep ties to the CCP.” She also noted that the organization was founded by operatives with Maoist leanings and has openly praised the Chinese Communist revolution.

One of the group’s founders, Fay Wong, once said, “What China was able to accomplish, with the revolution, was very inspiring.”

Talwani issued a 41-page ruling on Monday that temporarily blocks the Trump administration’s move to end the CHNV program—short for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Under CHNV, migrants could enter and stay in the U.S. for up to two years if they passed a background check and had a U.S. sponsor.

“For some Plaintiffs, leaving will also cause family separation. Leaving may also mean Plaintiffs will have forfeited any opportunity to obtain a remedy based on their APA claims, as leaving may moot those claims,” Talwani added.

The ruling was cheered by progressive immigration groups. Karen Tumlin, director of the Justice Action Center, said, “With this decision, so many people throughout the country will be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief.”

But conservatives see something very different: a judge, appointed by Obama, who has accepted honors from a CCP-affiliated group—and who is now using her bench to block Trump-era immigration enforcement.

Talwani’s federal judicial service began in 2013 after she was confirmed by the Senate to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. She has previously been involved in other rulings that sided with progressive immigration or labor positions.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security—now under Secretary Kristi Noem—has already begun dismantling other Biden-era protections, including Temporary Protected Status for nationals from Afghanistan and Cameroon.