Press Release
Published on February 28, 2025
BOSTON — Eight beneficiaries, three sponsors, and organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance—from Massachusetts, New York, Georgia, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and San Diego—are suing the Trump Administration following its unprecedented decision to end crucial humanitarian parole processes. These 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.
“Thanks to these popular and successful humanitarian parole processes, countless Americans opened their hearts and homes to their global neighbors. The Trump administration’s legally baseless move to simply declare this executive authority is ‘unlawful’ is as cruel as it is nonsensical,” said Karen Tumlin, Founder and Director of Justice Action Center. “Trump is targeting individual freedoms and slashing longstanding legal processes with no consideration for the harm it inflicts on newcomers, their American sponsors, and our economy—and that’s why we are taking him to court.”
For more than 70 years, Republican and Democratic administrations alike have issued humanitarian parole processes to allow Americans to sponsor individuals from other countries. In 2023, Justice Action Center and partners successfully defended the CHNV parole programs after they were challenged by Texas and other states.
The plaintiffs are represented by Justice Action Center and Human Rights First.
“There is no logical reason why the administration should want to end humanitarian parole when they have proven time and again to be so successful. My beneficiaries and I followed all of the rules laid out by the U.S. government, including a rigorous application and vetting process. Now, the government is turning its back on us and changing the rules,” said plaintiff Kyle Varner of Washington. “Rescinding these humanitarian parole processes will be enormously detrimental to local economies and increase critical labor shortages, particularly in communities like mine that have welcomed beneficiaries.”
“It seems as though the chaos and the cruelty is the point, and that has real, devastating consequences for people who are trying to lawfully flee persecution or reunify with their families in the U.S.,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director and Founder of organizational plaintiff Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Ending humanitarian parole will allow for further criminalization of our community members. We will continue to stand alongside the people we serve, our partners and allies, and immigrant communities broadly to ensure that this country upholds the pillars of freedom, opportunity, and rule of law it claims to value.”
“Humanitarian parole has been a lifeline in an otherwise nearly impossible system for people seeking to safely reunite with their loved ones or family members in the U.S.,” said Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy, Refugee Programs at Human Rights First. “We cannot let the Trump administration take away one of the last remaining viable pathways to safety in this country; one that has proved mutually beneficial to sponsors, beneficiaries, and their communities alike. We are proud to stand with humanitarian parole sponsors and their beneficiaries to ensure the U.S. upholds the freedom to welcome.”
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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.
