Svitlana Doe v. Noem

Challenging the Rollback of Humanitarian Parole Programs

Humanitarian Parole Programs allow people seeking safety for “urgent humanitarian reasons” to temporarily find safety in the United States. Throughout history, Republican and Democratic administrations alike have utilized the parole authority, first benefitting Hungarians in 1956. Over the years, parole has been offered following the Vietnam War and World War II, and was recently granted for Ukranians, Afghans, and the CHNV group (Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans). 

On January 31, 2025, the Trump administration announced their plan to revoke the lawful status of thousands of people who entered the country with humanitarian parole.

Human Rights First and co-counsel Justice Action Center are representing eleven beneficiaries, seven sponsors, and organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance—including people from Massachusetts, New York, Georgia, Nebraska, Wisconsin, California, and beyond—who are suing the Trump Administration over its termination of these crucial humanitarian parole programs.

Programs terminated include: Uniting for Ukraine, Operation Allies Welcome, and the process that includes Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, known as “CHNV humanitarian parole”. 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. 

This case has been mentioned widely across media outlets, including in Ttown Media, Law360, and The Miami Herald.

On April 14, a federal court temporarily blocked the government from revoking humanitarian parole for CHNV parolees.

On April 18, a federal judge in Boston certified a nationwide class of individuals with final removal orders who have been removed or face possible removal to a country that was not designated in the removal proceedings. The district court also issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from deporting class members to such countries without first providing them with written notice and an opportunity to show that they will suffer torture and/or death if deported there.

On May 5, the Court of Appeals denied the government’s request to block the district court’s order while the appeal proceeded. This means that the district court order will stand for now and CHNV parole beneficiaries will continue to enjoy the period of parole that each was originally granted.

On May 28, A federal judge in Massachusetts issued two rulings, 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.

On May 30, The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s request to stay a district court order, stripping the legal status and work permits of an estimated half a million people en masse who came to the U.S. through the humanitarian parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (“CHNV”). The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to take extraordinary action to block the district court’s preliminary injunction even before the First Circuit heard the case on appeal. The news comes after the Supreme Court issued a similar order in Noem v. National TPS Alliance, revoking Temporary Protected Status from an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans.

The week of July 28, the First Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in our lawsuit challenging the government’s policies regarding certain parole programs that have allowed families to live and work legally in the United States. Lawyers argued over whether the trial court was correct to temporarily block the government from terminating the parole program for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. 

A decision on whether the preliminary injunction will stay in place is now pending. Separately, a motion for partial summary judgment on the merits of the claims challenging the government’s termination of parole granted under the CHNV programs is pending, as is a motion to dismiss filed by the government.

On September 12, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Trump administration today in Svitlana Doe v. Noem, ruling that the administration’s termination of humanitarian parole was lawful.