The San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has condemned a United States Appeals Court ruling that greenlights President Trump’s mass revocation of lawful status and work authorization from hundreds of thousands of parole beneficiaries Haiti, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston on Sept. 12 sided with the Trump administration in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, ruling that the administration’s termination of humanitarian parole was legal.
The ruling impacts about 500,000 recipients of “CHNV” humanitarian parole from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
“This is the first ruling in Svitlana since the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s extraordinary request on May 30 to reverse the district court’s order blocking the termination — even before the First Circuit heard the case on appeal in July,” HBA Executive Director and Founder Executive Director and Founder Guerline Jozef said.
“This decision is specifically about CHNV humanitarian parole, but it has significant implications for the other humanitarian parole programs at issue in the Svitlana litigation, such as Uniting for Ukraine and Operation Allies Welcome — jeopardizing the lawful status of hundreds of thousands more currently living and working in the US,” she added.
Jozef said the lawsuit was filed by 18 welcomers, newcomers, and service members, in addition to organizational plaintiff HBA.
They are represented by Justice Action Center and Human Rights First.
“The Trump administration is fighting tooth and nail to delegalize as many people as possible, actively creating a larger class of people who are subject to deportation — made up even of those who followed the exact processes the US government required of them,” said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of Justice Action Center.
“Today’s ruling is an urgent and grave threat to all of us who believe in due process and equal protection under the law, and it has immediate consequences for hundreds of thousands humanitarian parole beneficiaries, their US sponsors, and the communities throughout the country who have benefited greatly from their contributions,” she added. “Our fight cannot — and will not — end here. We have already returned to the district court to seek a final ruling in this case finding this premature termination unlawful.”
Anwen Hughes, legal director of Human Rights First, said: “This ruling is a devastating blow to hundreds of thousands of lawful immigrants and their US-based sponsors who welcomed them into their homes and communities, but this is not the end of our legal fight.
“We remain firm in our belief that the Trump administration is needlessly and flagrantly flouting US law, and we won’t let this setback keep us from fighting in the courts to pursue justice for our communities,” he added.
Jozef said: “This has never actually been about ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’ immigrants, rather it’s about stripping the lawful rights from as many vulnerable communities as possible in order to advance a cruel and lawless agenda.
“Let us not forget that we are talking about people who have done everything the US government has asked of them, yet continue to be targeted by the calculated cruelty of the Trump administration,” she added. “To our brothers and sisters in the CHNV program: we see you, we are with you, and we will continue to stand by you as we fight for justice.”
Presidential administrations from both parties of American government have followed parole processes in an effort to promote family unification, humanitarian interests, and migration management, according to Haitian Bridge Alliance.
