United States: Supreme Court Permits Termination of Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans as Litigation Continues
June 2, 2025
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At a glance
- The Supreme Court has lifted a district court stay that had temporarily paused termination of the CHNV parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans while litigation continued.
- For now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can move forward in terminating parole and related employment authorization for beneficiaries of the CHNV program; the program had been scheduled to terminate on April 24.
- DHS will be permitted to implement the CHNV termination unless and until contrary rulings are issued in the course of full litigation proceedings.
- Separately, the Massachusetts district court in this lawsuit has granted injunctive relief to individuals who have applied for re-parole under several humanitarian parole programs and to certain humanitarian parolees who have applied for other immigration benefits. That district court order prohibits DHS from suspending adjudication of these applications, but the order is being appealed to higher courts by the Trump Administration.
The issues
On Friday, May 30, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a temporary district court stay on termination of the Biden-era CHNV parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. The Court order means that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may, for now, implement termination of the CHNV program, as litigation challenging the termination continues, and unless and until a further court order limits or restricts the agency’s ability to do so. After the release of the Supreme Court order, DHS issued a statement describing its intention to remove foreign nationals previously accorded CHNV parole.
Separately this week, the Massachusetts federal district judge in this lawsuit issued a preliminary injunction and granted class-wide relief to parolees of several humanitarian parole programs who have submitted applications for re-parole or other USCIS immigration benefits. The May 28 order prohibits DHS from suspending adjudication of these applications for certain parolees, but the order is being appealed to higher courts by the Trump Administration. The case is Doe v. Noem, Case No. 1:25-cv-10495-IT (D. Mass.).
Background on CHNV termination
In January 2023, the Biden Administration launched the CHNV parole program, which allowed for the parole of up to 30,000 nationals per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. CHNV parolees were required to have a U.S. financial sponsor and pass security screenings and were allowed to remain in the United States for up to two years and apply for and obtain employment authorization. In late 2024, the Biden Administration announced that it would not extend the program beyond its period but encouraged beneficiaries to pursue other immigration options.
President Trump announced his intention to terminate the CHNV and several other parole programs in an executive order issued on January 20, 2025. Consistent with that order, on March 25, 2025, DHS issued a Federal Register Notice terminating all CHNV paroles, effective April 24, 2025, and the agency subsequently sent CHNV parolees individual notices of the parole termination and the revocation of any associated Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). A lawsuit challenging DHS action was filed and on April 15, 2025, a Massachusetts federal district court paused the mass CHNV termination before it took effect. The Supreme Court ruling lifts that pause and permits DHS to continue with CHNV parole termination while litigation challenging DHS action continues.
A closer look at the district court preliminary injunction affecting certain parolees with pending applications
On May 28, the Doe district court certified an additional class of parolees and issued a preliminary injunction in their favor. The new class includes:
- individuals paroled under several humanitarian parole programs, including Uniting for Ukraine, Operation Allies Welcome, Military Parole in Place, Family Reunification Parole, CHNV, and the Central American Minors Program, who have a pending application for re-parole under one of these programs;
- individuals who received humanitarian parole and have a pending application for any additional immigration benefit (besides re-parole);
- individuals who have a pending application to support any family member through the Military Parole in Place (MPIP) program.
As with the initial CHNV class certification, the class excludes those who voluntarily left the United States and remained outside prior to the relevant DHS action, and those who opt out of the class in order to pursue separate litigation.
In defining this class, the court has granted the following temporary relief to the above individuals:
- staying the suspension of re-parole applications filed under the above parole programs;
- staying the suspension of immigration benefit adjudications for applications (besides re-parole) filed by individuals who received parole through the above programs; and
- staying the suspension of initial parole applications filed by individuals already present in the United States pursuant to the MPIP program.
This injunction could be particularly relevant for parolees who have submitted applications for non-parole benefits to USCIS, such as family-based green card applications or have had employment-based nonimmigrant petitions filed on their behalf. However, the Trump Administration has appealed the district court order to higher courts and action could be taken quickly in staying the May 28 district court order.
What this means for foreign nationals
CHNV parole grantees should seek individual counsel regarding the impact of the Supreme Court order on their CHNV parole and associated employment authorization. Parolees that may be included in the newly certified class for those with certain pending applications should stay tuned for further possible developments. It is not known how or whether the government will implement the May 28 preliminary injunction order, given the pending appeals to higher courts.
Fragomen is continuing to closely monitor the litigation and will provide updates as they occur.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
