The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has withdrawn legal protections for more than 500,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. This decision makes them liable for deportation within a month.
The policy affects about 532,000 people from these four countries who arrived in the US after October 2022 under a humanitarian parole programme. They received two-year permits to live and work in the country with financial sponsors. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that their legal status will end on 24 April, 30 days after the official notice appears in the Federal Register.
Impact on those already in the US
This policy shift targets individuals already in the US under the humanitarian parole scheme. It follows a previous Trump administration decision to limit what it called an “excessive use” of humanitarian parole. This mechanism has traditionally allowed people from war-torn or politically unstable countries to enter and remain temporarily.
During his campaign, Donald Trump pledged to deport millions of people living in the US without legal authorisation. His administration has since reduced legal pathways for immigrants to enter and stay.
DHS stated that individuals without a lawful basis to remain must leave before their parole expires. The department clarified, “Parole is temporary and does not provide an underlying basis for obtaining immigration status.”
Previously, programme beneficiaries could stay until their parole period ended. However, the government had already stopped processing applications for asylum, visas, and other legal residency requests that might have extended their stay.
Legal challenges
Federal courts are already reviewing challenges to the decision. A coalition of US citizens and immigrants has sued the Trump administration, seeking to reinstate the humanitarian parole programme for affected nationalities.
Legal experts and advocacy groups have strongly criticised the move. Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, one of the organisations involved in the lawsuit, warned that the decision would disrupt families and communities across the US She described it as “reckless, cruel, and counterproductive.”
Background of the programme
The Biden administration previously allowed up to 30,000 people per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the US under the programme. These individuals could work for two years. At the same time, the US persuaded Mexico to accept the same number of migrants from these countries since deportation options were limited.
Cuba generally accepted one deportation flight per month, while Venezuela and Nicaragua refused to take any returnees. Haiti allowed several deportation flights, especially after a surge in migration to Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. However, Haiti’s ongoing instability has complicated US repatriation efforts.
Since late 2022, over half a million people have entered the US under this scheme, known as CHNV. It was a key part of the Biden administration’s strategy to encourage legal migration while tightening border controls on unauthorised crossings.
