Federal Judge Order Suspends Termination of Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) Parole Program

Quick Hits

• A federal district court judge has issued a temporary nationwide order halting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s termination of the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole program, which was set to end on April 24, 2025.
• This decision allows individuals under the CHNV parole program to stay in the United States and maintain their work authorizations until their current parole periods expire.
• The court’s order provides temporary relief while further litigation is pending, but individuals will need to seek alternative immigration options to remain in the United States beyond their parole periods.

Background

Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the secretary of homeland security, at the secretary’s discretion, to “parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as he [or she] may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any alien applying for admission to the United States.” Parole allows noncitizens who may otherwise be inadmissible to enter the United States for a temporary period and for a specific purpose.

The Biden administration implemented a temporary parole program for Venezuelans in October 2022, and later expanded the parole program to include Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguan nationals in January 2023. Individuals within this program apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in the (c)(11) category. The Biden administration announced in October 2024 that it would not extend legal status for individuals who were permitted to enter the United States under the CHNV parole program, but encouraged CHNV beneficiaries to seek alternative immigration options.

On March 25, 2025, DHS published a Federal Register notice announcing the immediate termination of the CHNV parole program. The termination was set to take effect within thirty days of the date of publication of the notice, or April 24, 2025. On April 14, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, issued a nationwide order staying or temporarily suspending the implementation of the categorical termination of the CHNV parole program.

Key Takeaways

Pending further litigation, the federal district judge’s order results in the following:

• Individuals paroled into the United States pursuant to the CHNV parole programs may remain in the United States through their originally stated parole end date.

• Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to individuals admitted under the CHNV parole programs will remain valid through the expiration date listed on the EAD.

• Individuals seeking to remain in the United States past the expiration of their parole periods must seek an alternative immigration status to remain in the United States.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will monitor developments with respect to these and other policy changes and will post updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

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