Mass Deportation Looms for Migrants with Humanitarian Parole
A US Federal Court authorizes revocation of Humanitarian ‘Parole’ for half a million migrants
According to lawyer Willy Allen, cited by Café Fuerte, “the most affected will be Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, but Cubans may also suffer the consequences of this decision.”
HAVANA TIMES – The humanitarian parole program (CHNV), created to offer legal entry to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, could be definitively dismantled following a new judicial setback. A ruling issued this Friday by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Massachusetts authorizes Donald Trump’s Administration to prematurely cancel the permits granted since 2022 to more than half a million people.
The decision confirms that the government has the authority to end migration programs without reviewing cases individually, even if they are still pending in the courts, something that, in practice, was already happening, with migrants being arrested even at courthouse doors, and allows for immediate detention and deportation of those who have not managed to regularize their status.
“We recognize the risks of irreparable harm, convincingly laid out in the district court’s order: that parolees who arrived legally in this country were suddenly forced to choose between leaving in less than a month, a decision that potentially includes being separated from their families, communities, and legal jobs, and returning to dangers in their countries of origin,” the judges explained.
Nonetheless, they concluded that there was “no strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits” and that “the risk of such irreparable harms alone cannot justify halting the suspension” of parole.
Asked about the ruling by Café Fuerte, immigration lawyer Wilfredo Allen lamented that “we are witnessing the burial of humanitarian parole.” He explained that the measure will particularly impact Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans, though Cubans “may also suffer the consequences of this decision.”
Allen reminded that Cuban migrants who arrived in the US through humanitarian parole have the option, after one year and one day of presence on US territory, to apply under the Cuban Adjustment Act, still considered a form of legal admission in the US, but he warned that this does not protect them from “being detained and placed in deportation proceedings.” For this reason, he recommended “that everyone avoid problems while waiting for their legal residency.”
According to official figures, more than 110,000 Cubans have arrived in the US through parole. Most are already in the process of applying for residency, but around 600—who entered between September and December 2024, under the last rounds of parole approvals, have not yet obtained a legal status and are in the most vulnerable position.
The appeals court ruling backs the actions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which last March abruptly canceled the migration program and revoked all valid permits with just 30 days’ notice. The measure was blocked by a federal judge in Boston, but in May the Supreme Court overturned that protection.
Friday’s ruling sets a precedent by establishing that the Immigration and Nationality Act allows this type of program to be canceled without the need for case-by-case review.
The humanitarian parole program was launched in 2022 with the aim of providing a legal pathway for citizens of crisis-stricken countries to enter the US, and its cancellation was one of Trump’s main objectives in implementing his migration policy upon taking office.
The attempt at mass revocation has been criticized by multiple NGOs and migrant rights advocates, who argued—among other points—that if parole was granted on a case-by-case basis, it should also be revoked in the same manner.
The litigation is not yet over, and lawsuits for violations of due process continue in federal courts. However, in practice, the Trump Administration now has the legal tool to detain and deport those who have not yet secured another legal status in the United States.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.