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Let Them Stay Update #3 July 18, 2025

By Yael Schacher | July 18, 2025

This is a monthly newsletter about humanitarian parole and policy changes impacting people who entered the United States on parole and their supporters. The newsletter includes updates on policy, litigation, and Congressional activity impacting parole, tells stories about people on parole and their communities, and shares resources and explainers. It is part of a campaign to oppose attacks on parole and immigration enforcement efforts against parolees because they imperil people in need of safety and deprive American cities and towns of beloved and valuable community members. 

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Latest on Litigation

CHIRLA v. Noem is a case challenging the administration’s placement of people who entered through parole into expedited removal, a fast-track deportation process that occurs in detention and does not allow for a full hearing in immigration court. 

Here’s where we are: 

On July 9, there was a hearing before Judge Jilani Cobb in DC district court. The Trump administration asserted its position that parolees can be subject to expedited removal if their parole is terminated— no matter how long they have been in the United States. This is an interpretation of authority without precedent and would allow DHS to expeditiously remove not only over 2 million people paroled into the United States through programs and CBP One during the Biden administration— but also anyone paroled into the United States since at least 1997. In supplementary evidence, the government presented the judge with a memo indicating that, in the past, expedited removal was only used for those terminated parolees in the United States for less than one year. 

Doe v. Noem is a case challenging the mass termination of the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) parole processes and the halting of adjudications of immigration applications for parolees who entered on CHNV and other parole programs including Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) and family reunification parole.

Here’s where we are: 

On July 29, 2025 at the First Circuit Court of Appeals, there will be a hearing in the case regarding the legality of mass termination of CHNV parole. Many briefs supporting CHNV parolees have been submitted to the court, including a brief from labor unions that details the disruptions to production, working conditions, construction projects, and contracts between suppliers and assembly plants caused by stripping CHNV parolees of work authorization. One food processing facility laid off 130 former CHNV parolees and compelled remaining employees to work six rather than five days a week. Hotels who laid off workers are turning to temp agencies that undermine conditions and wages negotiated by unions. The brief also notes a lack of guidance and confusion among employers about determining which of their employees are no longer work authorized. 

TPS Litigation 

On July 1, Judge Cogan of the Eastern District of New York ruled that Secretary Noem did not have the authority to shorten Haiti TPS by six months, meaning that TPS for Haiti continues until February 3, 2026. On July 14, the Fourth Circuit stayed until July 21 the termination of Afghanistan TPS. The termination was allowed by a lower court despite acknowledging the risk plaintiffs, who worked for the U.S. mission, would face if returned to Afghanistan. 

Latest on Enforcement Policies

People who appear in immigration court to pursue applications for asylum and other forms of relief continue to have their proceedings dismissed at the behest of the government and to be arrested as they leave the court. Arrests even occur if the judge has not dismissed the case or if the parolee (or their attorney) appeals the decision of the judge (which has a new fee of $900).  Accompaniment to immigration court, by veterans (as part of a BattleBuddies program), by clergy, and by supporters of parolees across the country (i.e., through organized observation and witness programs in New York and Louisiana) is also growing. A class action lawsuit filed on July 16 in DC District Court challenging these practices includes two plaintiffs who were paroled after entering the United States with a CBP One appointment. One is a Venezuelan man who was arrested and detained by ICE despite the immigration judge telling him he could apply for asylum through USCIS. The second is an Ecuadorian who was arrested on June 4 in immigration court—despite bringing his asylum application detailing his persecution for LGBTQ+ activism—and was rapidly deported. 

An exhibit in the Doe v. Noem case showed that most people who arrived on CHNV and U4U parole programs have outstanding applications for relief with USCIS. Despite an order from the court mandating the lift in the pause on adjudication of these applications,  legal service providers report not receiving decisions on TPS and work permit applications and receiving denial of re-parole applications. Though Doe v. Noem  litigators may return to court to push USCIS for adjudication, many parolees have lost their jobs and are despairing about their prospects – especially as fees for applications have increased, work permit backlogs grow, and TPS designations end. Parolees who applied for asylum with USCIS are beginning to get letters requiring them to appear for credible fear interviews rather than full merits interviews. 

Latest from Congress

Besides giving DHS billions of dollars to superchange detention and deportation, H.R. 1, the reconciliation bill passed by Congress and signed by the President on July 4, dramatically raises the cost of applications for parole and many other applications (including for asylum, TPS, work authorization, adjustment of status, and appeals in immigration court) – effectively pricing out the vast majority of people who need protection. Cuban and Haitian entrants remain eligible for benefits and assistance that other humanitarian immigrants are barred from under the new law.

On July 15, the House Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability and the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement held a joint hearing titled “Case by Case: Returning Parole to Its Proper Purpose.” Members of Congress mostly used the hearing to voice divergent, party line views. Republicans emphasized the need for enforcement against parolees they claim are in the U.S. illegally, burdensome, criminal, and security threats. Democrats emphasized the cruelty of the Trump administration’s policies de-legalizing and arresting parolees who followed the rules and entered through Biden administration programs (among many other hardworking immigrants with no criminal records). Majority witness Ken Cuchinelli insisted President Biden’s use of parole was an abuse of executive authority but defended indiscriminate arrests by masked ICE officers and deportations without due process during the current administration. Majority Witness Steve Camarata argued that the Biden administration’s use of parole imposes fiscal costs on the United States. The latter costs are speculative since they are premised on assumptions that parolees have low educational attainment and pay little in taxes, though the government has not collected data about parolees or surveyed where CHNV parolees are employed. Minority witness David Bier cited a contrary CBO determination that the U.S. federal debt held by the public would be nearly $1 trillion lower in 2034 because of the economic contributions of parolees. Bier argued that the use of parole effectively reduced unauthorized border crossings and contributed to the U.S. labor force and economy. Bier also refuted that there was any significant fraud in the CHNV parole program or that the Biden administration’s use of parole was anomalous, given its use by every administration since 1952. 

Dr. Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas and Europe, entered the following statement into the Congressional record to deepen the conversation about the history and humanitarian importance of parole.

Resources for Parolees

We’re updating resources for people with humanitarian parole in multiple languages each week.

Need this resource in another language? Or is there another language you can help translate this resource into? Contact Yael Schacher yschacher@refugeesinternational.org. 

Story Spotlight:

The powerful and deeply personal impact of humanitarian parole comes to life in the story of Guervens. His journey to the United States. began after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, when he started learning English through free courses Vikki, a Chicago-area woman, taught online. After years of close friendship, Vicki and her husband Tom chose to sponsor Guervens’ entry into the United States in 2023 via the CHNV parole program. Now—with a good job, a partner, and a baby on the way in Illinois—Guervens’ future in the United States is at risk. Read more and share their story. 

In the Media:

Partner Resources:

Have a story, update, or resource you want included in next month’s Let Them Stay Update? Contact Yael Schacher yschacher@refugeesinternational.org. 

Share this newsletter with your network. Want to subscribe? Contact Eliza Leal at eleal@refugeesinternational.org. 

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