The recent Supreme Court ruling has authorized the Trump administration to initiate the deportation of approximately half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who had legally entered the U.S. under ‘humanitarian parole’ programs established during the Biden administration.
Legal Status Reversal
This one-paragraph order from the high court overturns a previous decision by a district judge that had halted the administration’s broad cancellation of the program. Consequently, immigrants who entered through these programs will lose their authorization to work in the U.S. and face the risk of immediate deportation. Despite this, many are expected to seek asylum or other forms of protection.
Justice Dissent
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both appointed by Democratic administrations, dissented from the majority’s ruling. Jackson, in an eight-page dissent joined by Sotomayor, expressed concerns that allowing the administration to terminate the programs during ongoing legal challenges would lead to ‘needless human suffering’ and ‘devastation’ for the impacted immigrants.
Legal Ramifications
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had previously revoked the legal status of immigrants in the CHNV parole programs, giving participants a 30-day notice to leave the country. However, a federal judge in Boston intervened, arguing that mass termination of the groups’ immigration status was likely unlawful and that individual parole grants could only be ended on a case-by-case basis.
The Supreme Court’s decision sets a precedent that may affect around one million immigrants, as the Trump administration could interpret the ruling as permission to swiftly terminate similar parole programs for citizens of other countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan.
