‘Cruel' decision: Immigrants in Massachusetts face fresh deportation fears after Trump end humanitarian parole program

Boston Globe

31-05-2025

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The court ruled on a request from the Trump administration to stay a lower-court decision that temporarily halted plans to end the humanitarian parole programs. The proceedings originated from a
that Trump ended after he returned to office in January.
The Trump administration planned to end the program on
Humanitarian parole dates back to the 1950s, when a law granted the attorney general discretion to admit noncitizens from countries affected by gang violence, war, or other political instability. Trump has targeted the system as part of his wider crackdown on legal immigration and promise to deport millions of people.
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Two justices appointed by Democratic presidents,
On Saturday, Mayor Michelle Wu said the city remains 'steadfast' in its commitment to being safe, welcoming, and 'creating opportunity for all.'
'It's not despite our immigrant heritage that we are strong, it is because of our immigrant heritage and the diversity of all of Boston,' she told reporters at Harambee Park, speaking at a an unveiling of Caribbean flag poles. Wu's office provided the Globe with an audio recording of her remarks.
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US Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin praised the high court's decision on Friday in a statement that called the CHNV program 'disastrous.'
'Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,' she said.
Thielman said in the last two years, the institute has helped about 15,000 people from Haiti enroll in federal benefits, about half of whom were granted legal status through the CHNV program. The agency also enrolled 1,500 to 1,800 Haitians with the legal protections in employment services to help them find work, he said. Many Haitians have left the country to flee gang violence, political turmoil, poverty, and fallout from natural disasters, including a devastating earthquake in 2010.
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Tilda, a 42-year-old Haitian woman living in Brockton, said she came to Massachusetts under the parole program in 2023. She asked to be identified by her nickname because she fears retaliation from federal immigration authorities.
With her parolee status, Tilda said she was granted authorization to work, found a job with a plastic appliances manufacturer, and became certified as a home health aide.
'I liked it, because I found a job,' she said through a Haitian Creole interpreter during an interview in April. 'I was living a better life.'
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Returning to Haiti is not an option, she said. Her father falls asleep amid the sound of gunfire outside his home in Port-au-Prince, she said. Tilda previously attempted to establish a new life in Brazil, but said she couldn't find steady work and then moved to the United States.
'It's very difficult because if you go back to Haiti, you risk your life,' Tilda said.
One plaintiff in the lawsuit seeking to reinstate the program is Wilhen Pierre Victor, a Woburn resident who sponsored family members to enter the United States from Haiti with humanitarian parole.
Victor's brother and his family relocated to Woburn last year, and have found work, but applications filed by her niece and cousin weren't processed before Trump ended the program, the complaint said.
Now the niece and cousin are stuck in Haiti and Victor's brother fears he and his family won't be able to stay here.
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'Her brother and his family could be forced to return to a life in Haiti rife with instability and violence,' the complaint said.
In a statement,
Karen Tumlin, founder and director of Justice Action Center, one of the groups behind the lawsuit, said the Supreme Court's move is 'devastating.'
'While we grieve with these communities today, we remain resolved in our fight for the dignity they deserve,' she said.
Without humanitarian parole, noncitizens can seek authority to stay in the country legally by applying for asylum or temporary protected status, Thielman said.
Yet the temporary protected status program is also under attack. On May 19, the Supreme Court let the Trump administration withdraw those protections from about
Willian came to the United States from Venezuela two years ago with temporary protected status and now works as a delivery driver for Amazon. He asked to be identified only by his first name because he fears retaliation from immigration officials.
Willian said Venezuelans who fled to the United States are seen as enemies by Nicolás Maduro, leader of the South American nation who has been described by Trump as a 'dictator.' Returning to Venezuela could be dangerous, he said.
'Even if we don't commit a crime, even if we don't do anything wrong, they could put us in jail,' Willian said in Spanish as Thielman translated his remarks into English.
Marvin Mathelier, executive director of the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center in Boston, said Haitians must sell all their belongings to pay to leave the country.
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If they are forced to return, they face nothing but danger, he said.
'I think this is cruel,' said Mathelier, whose parents moved to the United States from Haiti in the 1980s. 'We are just throwing them back to the wolves and that's just very unfortunate.'
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at