14ymedio, Madrid, 15 April 2025 — A US federal judge temporarily blocked the cancellation of the Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Indira Talwani, a magistrate in Boston, has ruled that the Government cannot abruptly end protection measures “pending a new court order.”
The conclusions also include a decision to suspend all “individual notifications” received by parole recipients urging them to leave the country.
The decision, which had been advanced by the Reuters agency, was confirmed on Monday when Talwani issued the opinion. “The defendants have not offered any substantial reason or public interest that would justify compelling persons who were granted temporary residence permits in the United States for a specified period to leave (or obtain undocumented status) prior to the original expiry date of their parole,” wrote the judge.
“Nor is it in the public interest to state summarily that the presence of hundreds of thousands of people is no longer legal in the country, so that they cannot work in their communities or support themselves and their families”
In addition, Talwani said, “it is not in the public interest to summarily state that the presence of hundreds of thousands of people is no longer legal in the country, so that they cannot work in their communities or support themselves and their families.” The order halts the cancellation of the program, scheduled for April 24, and provides that the stay of the beneficiaries is maintained during the two calendar years for which it was granted.
The Humanitarian Parole Program came into effect for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) in January 2023, along the lines of those already in place for Ukrainians and Afghans. The aim, as argued by the Biden administration at the time, was to end the disorderly and dangerous immigration that also gave rise to human trafficking.
Through the program, migrants from these countries who have their support guaranteed by sponsors could obtain a temporary status that allowed them to stay on the U.S. for two years, with work and residence permits. In the case of Cubans, the time could be used to invoke the Cuban Adjustment Law, which after one year allows them to obtain a green card and permanent residence.
Some 530,000 people benefited from the parole during the two years it was in force, of whom 110,240 were Cubans, 213,150 Haitians, 96,270 Nicaraguans and 120,760 Venezuelans. These migrants arrived in the U.S. with their documentation already arranged and on regular flights
However, the restrictive migration policy of Donald Trump was a threat to such mechanisms. The Republican, who came to power promising mass deportations of migrants, considered that programs such as Humanitarian Parole – among others – had favored an uncontrolled immigration. Irregularities were detected in the summer of 2024, when the plan was put on hold for a few months to correct the errors and abuses.
According to a report by the Republican majority Congress, blank forms were found, telephone numbers that did not work, postal codes that did not exist, social security numbers associated with deceased persons, repetitive texts or persons who submitted their applications more than once.
In March 2025, the Trump administration announced that the program would end on April 24, when the final suspension order would be issued. The Government indicated that beneficiaries who did not have a legal basis to remain in the US after the expiry of their permit should leave the country before the end of their parole.
“On behalf of all those who came to the United States through the CHNV program, did everything the government asked of them and have been living with the fear that their legal status and work permits would be withdrawn on April 24, we are relieved “
A group of migrants with humanitarian parole and their sponsors in the United States filed a lawsuit against the decision, claiming that the abrupt suspension of the program would cause serious harm to thousands of people who had been granted permission to be in the country.
“On behalf of all those who came to the United States through the CHNV program, did everything that the government asked them to do and have been living with the fear that their legal status and work permits would be withdrawn on April 24, we are relieved by the court’s decision, which is based both on the harm these people would suffer and their likelihood of winning this case,” Anwen Hughes, claimants’ representative and lawyer for the refugee programs of Human Rights First, told the media.
The Department of Justice has not yet responded to requests for comment from the American press.
Thousands of Cubans may feel, at least temporarily, relieved by this measure, although it remains to be seen what the Government will do next. In addition, the legal status of those who arrived through the CBP One appointment application – also suspended by the White House – and those who were detained at the border and are on parole with the permit known as I-220A is still pending.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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