A U.S. court ruling has restored the spirit of thousands of Cuban migrants who benefited from the humanitarian parole approved by former President Joe Biden in January 2023. Current President Donald Trump's move in April to block the support established by the program was recently rejected by a federal judge, which also benefits thousands of Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Haitian immigrants.
Immigration attorney Jesús Novo interviewed Cuban journalist Mario J. Pentón, who highlighted that a significant number of migrants with parole and Form I-94 applications are receiving positive responses from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
"Several people have called and written to me to confirm that their reinstated I-94s are being returned," the reporter commented, according to several notifications from the Cuban immigrants themselves.
According to the lawyer, the Trump administration's decision to revoke these benefits as of April 24 caused significant distress among immigrants participating in the program, especially Cubans. This means that the situation has taken a significant turn, although he emphasizes that it has not been entirely as desired.
Boston federal judge Indira Talwani ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) misinterpreted the law, revoking the benefits because the migrants entered the country with proper authorization.
Another error committed by the DHS, according to the judge, was the inclusion of some people with parole in a death registry, which led to the cancellation of their Social Security numbers, an action that is also now being corrected.
“It was an attempt to cut off benefits for certain immigrants, but that's nonsense, and we all knew it wasn't going to work,” Novo explained in the interview with Pentón. The court's decision offers relief to more than 531,000 individuals who legally entered the U.S. between January 2023 and December 2024 through the CHNV program. More than 110,000 people arrived from Cuba using this method.
He also points out that it's important to keep in mind that the national government has filed an appeal against the judge's ruling. This means we must be vigilant, since if the appeals court overturns the decision, the proceedings could be extended, depending on the immigration attorney's discretion.
"It's good news, but we need to stay abreast of the court's decisions. So far, it's temporary; it could be permanent, but we'll have to wait and see," Novo clarified, so as not to create false expectations among users.
Before concluding, he recommended that those sponsored stay informed and work on regularizing their status as soon as possible, since these processes may prove to be somewhat complex to resolve in the future.
