New York Attorney General Letitia James has co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in submitting a brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The brief requests the court to maintain an order preventing the federal government from ending humanitarian parole for over 500,000 immigrants. The “Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela” (CHNV) parole program was established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2022 and 2023 to allow individuals from these countries to enter the United States legally for humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Attorney General James stated, “Humanitarian parole exists to support vulnerable individuals and families who have come to our country seeking safety and a better life.” She emphasized that revoking their status would be unjust as these individuals contribute economically and socially across New York and nationwide.
The CHNV program enables newly arrived immigrants to temporarily stay in the U.S. and join the workforce. However, an executive order issued on January 20 directed DHS to terminate such programs. DHS then issued a rule stripping CHNV recipients of their immigration status effective April 24, with plans to remove those who remained.
A lawsuit filed by parole recipients led a federal district court to block this action due to potential catastrophic harm and possible unlawfulness of DHS’s actions. Now, Attorney General James and her coalition are advocating for this ruling’s upholding by the First Circuit.
The brief highlights that these immigrants play essential roles in various sectors like manufacturing, construction, and health services. In New York alone, they constituted nearly 28% of the labor force in 2023. Ending parole pathways could result in economic losses and threaten public safety.
Furthermore, terminating parole could have severe humanitarian impacts on individuals fleeing violence or crises in their home countries. It may separate families and put current parolees at risk of returning to dangerous conditions.
Joining Attorney General James are attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
