First Circuit ruling covers those who came through “CHNV” humanitarian parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON—The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today denying the Trump administration’s request to stay a district court decision in Svitlana Doe v. Noem that halted the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke the legal status and work permits of hundreds of thousands of people who came to the U.S. through the humanitarian parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezulans (“CHNV”).
“We are relieved that the First Circuit panel denied the Trump administration’s request to block the district court order that stopped the Trump administration’s reckless and illegal attempt to strip nearly half a million people of their lawful immigration status, said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “Our clients and class members are essential coworkers, life partners, and family members to others in the United States, and they have done everything the U.S. government has asked of them. Now the Trump administration needs to uphold its end of the bargain.”
“The Trump administration’s cruel and callous attempt to strip our Hemispheric neighbors from their permission to be here was rightly stopped by the courts again today,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director and Founder of organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Hundreds of thousands of sponsors have welcomed these global neighbors with open arms, dignity and compassion. Today’s victory belongs to us as well and is a move toward being on the right side of justice and history.”
“This ruling reaffirms that the Department of Homeland Security’s claims of unreviewable discretion to terminate the lawful status of half a million people en masse are unlikely to prevail,” said Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy, Refugee Programs at Human Rights First.
Justice Action Center and Human Rights First filed Svitlana Doe v. Noem on behalf of humanitarian parole beneficiaries and their U.S. sponsors from across the country, along with organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance, to challenge the Trump Administration’s unprecedented decision to end crucial humanitarian parole processes. Plaintiffs are also challenging the Administration’s order to USCIS to halt all pending applications for these processes and any other alternatives that may offer potential relief. The plaintiffs are represented by Justice Action Center and Human Rights First.
For more than 70 years, Republican and Democratic administrations alike have established parole processes to advance important American interests, including promoting family unification, advancing urgent humanitarian interests, and enhancing migration management. In 2023, Justice Action Center, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law, and RAICES successfully defended the CHNV parole processes after they were challenged by Texas and other states.
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Justice Action Center (JAC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for greater justice for immigrant communities by combining litigation and storytelling. JAC is committed to bringing additional litigation resources to address unmet needs, empower clients, and change the corrosive narrative around immigrants in the U.S. Learn more at justiceactioncenter.org and follow us on Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Human Rights First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization based in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C. For nearly 50 years, Human Rights First has worked to create a just world in which every person’s intrinsic human rights are respected and protected. Learn more at humanrightsfirst.org and follow us on Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and builds solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”). Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. haitianbridge.org