World Relief Responds to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Allowing the Administration to Withdraw Legal Protections for Humanitarian Parolees

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Roughly 500,000 individuals could become vulnerable to deportation, as Congress considers dramatic expansion in detention and deportation funding.

(Baltimore, MD) May 30, 2025 – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with its intention to terminate humanitarian parole for an estimated 500,000 individuals who lawfully entered the United States from countries facing severe humanitarian crises such as Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba. Unless they have been able to obtain another legal status, these individuals will become vulnerable to deportation — at a moment when the U.S. Congress is considering a dramatic increase in taxpayer funds to facilitate the detention and deportation of immigrants.

“This decision will have devastating effects for nearly half a million people who entered the US lawfully after being sponsored by family, friends or churches, putting them at risk of deportation to countries facing humanitarian crises,” said Matthew Soerens, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief. “Whether or not it was the correct decision under the law, it is clearly not a just decision: our country should not withdraw legal protections from these individuals who have gone through the process our government set up to come lawfully, including passing background checks.”

Whether these individuals who have suddenly gone from being in the United States lawfully to being unlawfully present will actually be deported will depend in part on the resources that Congress appropriates for that purpose. At present, Congress has appropriated $3.4 billion in taxpayer funds for detaining immigrants as they are processed for potential deportation, but the “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives would dramatically increase the amount of funding for detention, up to $45 billion, with additional funds designated for carrying out deportations. 

“If the Senate passes and the president signs this budget reconciliation bill in its current form, they will effectively be signing the check to carry out deportations of vulnerable immigrants from countries such as Venezuela and Haiti who have entered the U.S. lawfully and, until today, always been present lawfully,” added Soerens. “We want the Department of Homeland Security to have enough funding to detain and deport those convicted of violent crimes — but not many times more than is necessary for that purpose, facilitating the deportation of individuals who have followed the law into devastating humanitarian nightmares.”

Today’s decision affecting one particular humanitarian parole sponsorship program, which applies to individuals from four specific countries who entered via airports, comes a few weeks after roughly one million individuals who received humanitarian parole at lawful ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border also received notification that their parole was being terminated. Among those affected — and put at risk of deportation — are Afghan converts to Christianity, whose deportation could lead to martyrdom. A broad range of Christian leaders, including leaders of conservative Christian organizations such as Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council and The Family Leader, voiced their concerns with this situation in a letter to President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem earlier this month.

Today’s decision also comes in the wake of a separate U.S. Supreme Court decision last week, allowing the administration to proceed with its plan to terminate Temporary Protected Status — a legal protection distinct from humanitarian parole — for certain Venezuelans. While some similar humanitarian parole protections and Temporary Protected Status for individuals from some other countries — such as Ukraine — have not yet been terminated, today’s court decision suggests that the administration would have the authority to terminate these individuals’ legal protections as well, rendering them vulnerable to deportation.

As noted in a recent report co-produced by World Relief, the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the large majority — about 80 percent —  of those vulnerable to deportation are Christians of one theological tradition or another, and many of those — like those with humanitarian parole or Temporary Protected Status — were lawfully present and authorized to work when President Trump was inaugurated, but rely on temporary protections that the administration is seeking and the courts have in many cases now allowed them to terminate.

“We’re deeply saddened by this ruling and its impacts,” said Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “It is vital that observers recognize that these individuals who are our neighbors, fellow church members, and co-workers had cleared criminal background checks and were lawfully present and work authorized prior to the Trump administration’s actions. This is a systematic effort to remove law-abiding immigrants, which goes well beyond commitments to curb illegal immigration, improve border security and deport violent criminals. It’s vital that the church pay attention and use its voice to speak out in this season.”

World Relief encourages those who may be affected by today’s decision to consult with an accredited immigration legal service provider, including many offices of World Relief. It also has developed tools to make it easy for individuals to advocate, asking Congress not to appropriate the funds that would facilitate the detention and deportation of these previously-lawfully-present immigrants to countries facing humanitarian crises. 

About World Relief
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the displacement crisis in war-torn Europe and since 1979 has partnered with the U.S. State Department and thousands of local churches to resettle nearly 300,000 refugees to the United States. To learn more, visit worldrelief.org