FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON — Justice Action Center and Human Rights First rushed into court today on behalf of approximately 15,000 family members of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents whose status will be revoked in a matter of weeks. These people, who entered the United States under Family Reunification Parole (FRP), are represented by five new plaintiffs added to Svitlana Doe v. Noem, the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of humanitarian parole beneficiaries, sponsors, and Haitian Bridge Alliance. The plaintiffs have asked the court to block the Trump administration’s Federal Register Notice revoking FRP beneficiaries’ lawful status and to allow the plaintiffs to incorporate this effort into their existing lawsuit to protect parole.
Family Reunification Parole covers a special subset of people who are in their final stages of obtaining a family-based green card. Sponsors for these immigrants – all of whom hail from one of seven countries in the Americas – must be invited by the federal government to submit additional paperwork, pay additional fees, and jump additional hurdles so that their approved beneficiaries may enter the United States. They did so with the understanding that their beneficiaries would be able to work and live here until their visas became available. This parole process was made available only to future green card holders who would be eligible for visas within the next few years. All beneficiaries had been waiting for their green cards for many years, if not more than a decade.
“Our plaintiffs and class members, all of whom are close family members of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents, left jobs and sold properties in preparation for what they had intended to be the start of a new chapter in the United States,” said Esther Sung, legal director of Justice Action Center and counsel in the case. “The Trump administration’s actions here aren’t just callous and cruel, they are baffling. Every person in this group is in the very final stages of obtaining lawful permanent status. It makes no sense to kick them out before they are allowed back in.”
Family Reunification Parole has historically been utilized by executives on both sides of the aisle and allowed families to be reunited after years of separation. But on December 15, the Trump administration announced that these processes would not only be terminated, but that the work authorization and lawful status for the vast majority of those who are here under the FRM process would no longer be valid as of January 14, 2026.
This announcement sent shockwaves through the Family Reunification Parole community during the holiday season. All plaintiffs and class members have described the panic they feel at what may come in a few short weeks when they will be stripped of their status unless the court intervenes.
“Family separation serves no legitimate interests, but this administration’s actions make clear that some families are not valued,” said Anwen Hughes, senior director of legal strategy and legal initiatives at Human Rights First. “Our clients and class members have sunk roots in their communities in the United States, and their communities benefit from keeping these families together. We’re proud to fight with them in court.”
This filing was the latest move in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, a class action lawsuit filed in February 2025 to protect the rights of an estimated 1.1 million people who entered the United States under various parole processes. In January 2025, the Trump Administration declared “categorical” humanitarian parole unlawful and has since revoked lawful status for those who entered under Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela Humanitarian Parole. For more information about the class action lawsuit Svitlana Doe v. Noem, click here.
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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 Twitter/X, 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