Press Release
Published on May 29, 2025
Judge’s ruling ensures that immigrants can pursue a more stable pathway to status if one is available
BOSTON—A federal judge in Massachusetts issued two rulings in Svitlana Doe v. Noem today, this time ordering the Trump administration to resume processing of applications for more lasting immigration status or benefits (such as work permits) filed by noncitizens who were granted lawful status in this country through categorical humanitarian parole programs. The court also certified a nationwide class to ensure that all impacted individuals meeting certain criteria are protected. This means that these humanitarian parole beneficiaries can once again pursue applications for more lasting and stable immigration status for which they are eligible by law, such as adjustment of status, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), asylum, and re-parole. The court’s order also means that initial applications and re-parole applications filed by the relatives of U.S. service members under Military Parole in Place must be adjudicated.
The ruling covers beneficiaries of the following humanitarian parole processes: Uniting for Ukraine, Operation Allies Welcome, Central American Minors Parole, Family Reunification Parole, Military Parole-in-Place, and the process that available to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, known as “CHNV humanitarian parole”.
The court also certified various classes to ensure that all individuals inside the United States in the various parole programs who do not have their own individual litigation pending on the challenged agency policies can benefit from the relief ordered today. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are members of these certified classes and stand to benefit from today’s decision.
“Our clients and class members are essential coworkers, life partners, and family members to others in the United States. They deserve to be treated like anyone else when it comes to pursuing other forms of status,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “We’re grateful that the judge restored fairness and accountability for these communities.”
Last month, the judge ruled to halt the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke the legal status and work permits of hundreds of thousands in the CHNV humanitarian parole process for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The judge also certified a class of all individuals who have received a grant of parole that is subject to the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, are still in the United States, and do not choose to opt out of the class in order to seek relief in separate litigation. The government has sought a stay of this ruling with the Supreme Court, where the motion is fully briefed and pending.
“Today’s news should serve as a reminder that when we fight together, we win,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director and Founder of organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Whether we come from Ukraine or Haiti, Afghanistan or Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, all those with humanitarian parole should have the freedom to live and work peacefully in their adopted communities and with their families. We ask that the government immediately restart the processing of applications for relief for our community members whose lives have been put on hold.”
“This ruling reaffirms what we have always known to be true: our government has a legal obligation to respect the rights of all humanitarian parole beneficiaries and the Americans who have welcomed them into their communities,” said Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy, Refugee Programs at Human Rights First. “We are pleased that the court has again rightly recognized the harm the government’s arbitrary decision-making has inflicted on innocent people, and we share the judge’s hope that the government will adhere to this order and immediately resume adjudicating our clients’ applications for relief.”
Justice Action Center and Human Rights First filed Svitlana Doe v. Noem on behalf of humanitarian parole beneficiaries and their U.S. sponsors from across the country, along with organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance to challenge the Trump Administration’s unprecedented decision to end crucial humanitarian parole processes. Plaintiffs are also challenging the Administration’s order to USCIS to halt all pending applications for these processes and any other alternatives that may offer potential relief. The plaintiffs are represented by Justice Action Center and Human Rights First.
For more than 70 years, Republican and Democratic administrations alike have established parole processes to advance important American interests, including promoting family unification, advancing urgent humanitarian interests, and enhancing migration management. In 2023, Justice Action Center and partners successfully defended the CHNV parole processes after they were challenged by Texas and other states.
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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, 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, haitianbridge.org
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