New York, NY—Today, The Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) affirmed the Trump administration’s ability, for now, to end a humanitarian program that allowed hundreds of thousands of people fleeing countries facing war and political turmoil to seek temporary residency and work authorization in the United States. This ruling will strip these individuals and families of legal protections and expose nearly one million immigrants to deportations. The justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The court also allowed the administration to revoke temporary legal status from about 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in another case.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“This ruling will have devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of families and will resonate in our workplaces, as industries abruptly lose their workers. These individuals did everything right by following the procedures that were set out for them to escape extreme hardship and instability in their home countries. Now, at a moment’s notice, they’ve had their lives and their livelihoods upended for no other reason than one administration’s desire to meet some arbitrary and outrageous deportation agenda. None of these actions will make America great for anyone. We are outraged and every person who calls this country home should be similarly outraged. While New York State can’t stop the administration from revoking these humanitarian programs, it can pass the New York For All Act, Access to Representation Act and the BUILD Act to make clear that our state will not be complicit in Trump's horrific anti-immigrant agenda. These bills will expand legal representation for immigrants and strengthen protections against unjust deportations.”