US Appeals Court Gives Hope to Humanitarian Parole Recipients
US Appeals Court denies government request to revoke a program which benefits Nicaraguans, Cubans, Haitians, and Venezuelans.
HAVANA TIMES – A panel of three judges has temporarily blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to revoke the legal status and work permits of hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of a humanitarian program for migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela.
However, the battle to maintain the program is not over. The Trump administration could now ask the Supreme Court to intervene.
At least half a million of these immigrants, most of them residents of South Florida, benefit from the so-called ‘parole’ program.
The decision “represents an important step toward justice, not only for the hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country through this vital process, but also for the US sponsors who welcomed them into their homes,” stated Karen Tumlin, director of the Justice Action Center, in a statement on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the government’s request on Monday, May 5, 2025, to lift a federal judge’s order blocking the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to terminate the program, which was implemented during the presidency of Democrat Joe Biden (2017–2021).
The lower Federal court ruling by Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani aims to stop the Trump Administration’s move to end various humanitarian parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. These programs also include other beneficiaries such as Central American minors, Ukrainians, and Afghans.
The lawsuit Svitlana Doe v. Noem was filed in April by the Justice Action Center and Human Rights First on behalf of humanitarian parole program beneficiaries and their sponsors, alongside the plaintiff organization Haitian Bridge Alliance.
“Parole has been an essential component of the immigration system for decades,” said Anwen Hughes, a director at Human Rights First.
“The court rightly recognized the harm the government’s arbitrary decision was about to cause to the lives of innocent people,” she added.
“Hundreds of thousands of our neighbors will sleep tonight knowing that the Trump administration’s attempts to delegitimize and criminalize our communities have been thwarted — for now,” said Guerline Jozef, founder of Haitian Bridge Alliance, in the statement.
For more than 70 years, both Republican and Democratic administrations have used humanitarian parole processes to advance national interests such as family reunification and the humane management of migration.
Read more news from Cuba and Nicaragua here on Havana Times.
Hey George, what you say about immigration is true, clearly determined by the State Dept. under the Executive. This particular case, with ‘Parole’ for visitors from these 4 countries, is different, more a question of tort law, or breach of contract. I applied for my Nica step-daughter to be able to come visit her family here. The application required commitments of financial support on my part. I paid to fly her to us and cover all her expenses. At the MIA airport customs reviewed her papers, judging her OK to admit into the USA for the two years specified in the Parole contract. She is still owed the better part of a year left to stay here with her mother & brothers (all legal). She’s a legal visitor. I had petition USCIS for her residency 5 years ago. Still waiting. (USCIS badly needs A.I.)
I can’t speak for all the others brought in under this program, but, if all the paperwork needed was verified, these people should be the easiest targets to get in an “immigrant sweep,” though many so-called parolees are not immigrants, but legal visitors. We’re all better off is Trump & ICE clear out the true criminals first.
Guys please do not bet on this court ruling. While it is popular to say Trump this and Trump that the reality is he is our President and our constitution does not give or grant our judicial branch any say in immigration. The sad reality is our previous president ignored our immigration laws as passed by our legislative branch. I do not have the foggiest idea how courts will rule but given the strength of the movement to put a stop to illegal immigration and an out of control judicial branch it would appear that the citizens of the United States may have to win a few more elections before we prevail but I wouldn’t rule it out.