Federal District Court of Massachusetts Finds Plaintiff Paroled into United States Based on TPS Was an “Arriving Alien”

The U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued a ruling in Michel v. Mayorkas on March 2, 2021 that an applicant for Adjustment of Status from Haiti with TPS status was considered an “arriving alien”, and her adjustment of status fell under USCIS jurisdiction.

USCIS argued that the plaintiff’s adjustment fell under the jurisdiction of an Immigration Judge and not USCIS because she was an “alien placed in deportation proceedings or in removal proceedings".  While the plaintiff was placed in removal proceedings after she entered the U.S. without inspection, her removal is prohibited while TPS is in effect. The court found that this statutory provision suggests that any ongoing removal proceeding against someone in TPS status that has not yet been heard by an immigration judge is temporarily suspended.  Additionally, although the plaintiff initially entered the U.S. without inspection, she subsequently left and was inspected when she returned on advance parole.  Since the was “inspected and paroled” into the United States, she is considered an “arriving alien” and USCIS has jurisdiction over her adjustment application.  Based on this, the court ordered USCIS to re-open the plaintiff’s application for adjudication.