Following the Texas v. DHS bench trial, attorneys and defendants discussed their push to save the “CHNV” humanitarian parole program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VICTORIA, TX – On Monday, August 28, attorneys from Justice Action Center, RAICES, and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School Law hosted a press call to debrief the bench trial in Texas v. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They represent seven U.S. citizens who joined the case as defendant intervenors to protect their interests in keeping open a successful immigration parole program and their right to sponsor Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) seeking safety and stability in the United States.
The Texas v. DHS trial, which took place last week on August 24 and 25 in Victoria, TX, will determine the fate of this parole program, which allows Americans to sponsor friends, family, and others in need for a period of up to two years, provided they have a financial sponsor and meet other criteria. This program has already allowed thousands of families and friends to reunite, including Eric Sype, one defendant who welcomed his longtime friend from Nicaragua to the U.S. last month. Eric and the other defendants are fighting to protect one of the few remaining safe, legal pathways to the United States.
Please find a recording of the call HERE and quotes from speakers below. Please reach out to jac@berlinrosen.com if you would like to schedule a follow-up interview with attorneys or intervenors about this lawsuit.
“Texas v. DHS marks the first time in the over 70-year history of the immigration parole statute that a parole program has ever been challenged in court,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “As the defendants explained at trial, this particular parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, is lawful and absolutely consistent with past uses for the parole authority.”
Just like the humanitarian parole program for Ukrainians, this program serves as a lifeline for those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to come to the U.S. safely, whether they are Ukrainians or Haitians,” said Guerline Jozef, Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “This is why we persist in our efforts to ensure that the program for Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua endures. Regardless of circumstances, it is imperative that we safeguard the freedom to welcome and to move with dignity.”
“Over the course of the days-long trial, the state of Texas continued its attempt to eliminate the CHNV program for the whole country, based on claims of harm that have nothing to do with this program, and that propagate false stereotypes about migrants and immigrants,” said Monika Langarica, Senior Staff Attorney with the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law. “In the face of that assault, our clients, who were the only people in that courtroom personally impacted by the CHNV program, shared the immeasurable benefits that this program has created, not only for them personally and for the people they have sought to sponsor, but also for their communities and for our country as a whole. The CHNV program is a glimmer of hope in the face of increasingly restrictive immigration policies.”
“Every time our government exercises the parole authority, our country lives up to the promises that we’ve made.hat’s what is really at stake here,” said Javier Hidalgo, Legal Director of RAICES. “We should not be taking away any freedoms. We should recognize and embrace the real benefits that millions of U.S. citizens and immigrants alike stand to gain from programs like this.”