As more than half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela face the threat of losing their legal status in the United States, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced Tuesday that she has filed a legal brief to defend the rights of beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole program (CHNV), which is now at risk of termination under the Trump administration.
In this coordinated legal action, Campbell joined 17 other state attorneys general in asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from abruptly ending the program and revoking the legal status of over 500,000 individuals.
“The elimination of the CHNV parole program is a blatant example of abuse of power and the unjust treatment of immigrants by this administration,” Campbell said in an official statement, denouncing the direct impact on local communities. “Massachusetts is home to the third-largest Haitian population in the U.S. CHNV recipients hold essential jobs, care for our most vulnerable residents, and contribute meaningfully to our local economy.”
Launched under the Biden-Harris administration in 2022 and 2023, the CHNV program allows eligible nationals from the four countries to obtain temporary legal status in the U.S. on urgent humanitarian grounds. Beneficiaries receive work permits and can remain legally in the country for a two-year period.
However, immediately upon taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating the immediate termination of the program—thereby stripping legal protections from over 500,000 individuals already present on U.S. soil. According to the district court that initially blocked the administration’s move, the mass revocation of these immigrants’ status relied on shaky legal grounds and would cause “irreparable harm.”
In the brief filed with the appeals court, the coalition of attorneys general warned of catastrophic consequences if the program is dismantled: family separations, massive job losses, worsening labor shortages, and increased risks to public health.
The numbers are stark: immigrants contribute more than $651 billion in taxes annually nationwide, including $6.6 billion in Massachusetts alone. They make up nearly 22% of the state’s workforce and 38.6% of its home health aides. Among them, between 800 and 1,000 CHNV beneficiaries work in nursing homes or in hard-to-staff special education schools, Campbell noted in the statement.
Legal Battle Ongoing
Although the lower court initially paused the program’s termination, the U.S. Supreme Court later issued a stay, clearing the way for the Trump administration to begin revoking the legal status of Biden-era CHNV recipients. However, the issue remains unresolved.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals must now rule on the merits of the case in Doe v. Noem.
If the court sides with the plaintiffs, the case is expected to return to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision on the substance of the matter.
“We will continue to stand with members of our Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan communities who contribute every day to our society,” Campbell concluded.
In addition to Massachusetts, the states signing on to the brief include New York, Illinois, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.
