Appeals Court Backs End of Humanitarian Parole for Over 430,000 Migrants
Posted on 09/16/25 at 17:40
- Parole: Court upholds end of program
- Impacts 430,000 migrants
- Trump seeks to reverse policies
A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration has the authority to end the humanitarian parole program that had benefited thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The decision directly affects about 430,000 people who had received temporary residence permits with work authorization.
The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, represents the latest chapter in a legal dispute over programs created during the Biden era to expand legal pathways for migrants.
Humanitarian Parole Program Comes to an End After Court Ruling
Why It Matters
The humanitarian parole program allowed beneficiaries to live and work legally in the U.S. for a two-year period.
With this court decision, the Trump administration can revoke the measure while litigation continues.
In their written opinion, the judges acknowledged the severe consequences: “Parolees who legally entered the country are forced to choose between leaving within a month —which means separating from families, communities, and legal jobs— or returning to dangerous conditions in their home countries.”
Nonetheless, they concluded that the harms cited were not sufficient to uphold the benefit.
The Reaction to the End of the Parole Program
Immigrant advocacy organizations described the ruling as a heavy blow.
Esther Sung, legal director of the Justice Action Center, stated: “People who came from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela did everything the government asked of them, and the Trump administration cruelly and irrationally failed to uphold its end of the agreement.
While we are deeply disappointed by this decision, we will continue to vigorously advocate for our clients and class members as litigation continues.”
The district court had issued an injunction in April to block the program’s termination, but the Supreme Court lifted that measure in May without explanation.
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The Government’s Position
The Department of Justice argued that the protections offered by the parole program were always temporary and that the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to end them without judicial intervention.
Deputy Solicitor General D. John Sauer emphasized that eliminating them case by case would be a “gigantic task” and that the decision must rest with the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The plaintiffs, however, insisted that Secretary Kristi Noem could not categorically cancel the benefits and was required to consider the humanitarian grounds on which the program was created.
Political Context
Since his campaign, Donald Trump has promised to deport millions and, once in the White House, has sought to reverse Biden-era policies that expanded legal pathways to live in the U.S.
Immigrants’ attorneys described this as the first mass revocation of a humanitarian parole program in U.S. history, calling it “the largest event of mass illegalization in modern American history.”
The appeals court’s decision leaves hundreds of thousands of migrants in limbo who until now had temporary protection.
While the litigation continues, the ruling sets a precedent that could redefine the scope of humanitarian benefits in the United States.
Do you think the humanitarian parole program should remain as a pathway of protection for migrants, or be permanently eliminated?
SOURCE: ABC News
