The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday that it is revoking humanitarian parole (or legal staus) for approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. since October 2022.
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These individuals had been allowed to live and work legally for two years under a Biden-era program requiring financial sponsorship.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that those affected will lose their legal status on April 24, 2025, or 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register. DHS emphasized that parolees “must depart” before their termination date unless they obtain another legal status.
The Trump administration has defended the move as necessary for border security, migration control, and national sovereignty. DHS stated that the humanitarian parole program had become an “incentive for mass migration”, leading to increased crossings and straining U.S. resources. Officials argue that ending these temporary protections is part of a broader effort to restore order at the border and ensure that immigration programs are used selectively, rather than as a backdoor to residency.
Additionally, the administration contends that the U.S. should not be providing temporary legal staus to individuals from adversarial nations like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, which have been unwilling to cooperate on deportation efforts.
Immigration policy shift under the Trump administration
The decision follows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14165, “Securing Our Borders”, which directs DHS to end broad-based humanitarian parole programs. The administration has argued that CHNV parole—originally introduced under President Joe Biden—was a “broad abuse” of parole authority and contributed to increased migration.
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. allowed up to 30,000 people per month from the four countries to enter with temporary work permits. In return, Mexico agreed to accept deportations of the same number of people from these nations. However, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have either limited or refused U.S. deportation flights, while Haiti has accepted them despite ongoing instability.
Weeks after end of TPS for Haitians
This move comes just weeks after DHS reversed Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extension, another key immigration policy shift under the Trump administration.
In August 2024, former President Joe Biden had extended Haiti’s TPS until February 3, 2026, citing ongoing violence, political turmoil, and humanitarian crises in the country. However, in February 2025, Secretary Noem rescinded that extension, meaning Haiti’s TPS designation will now end on August 3, 2025, unless further extended.
Since 2010, Haiti has been under TPS due to the devastating earthquake that year. The number of Haitians qualifying for TPS has grown significantly—from 57,000 in 2011 to an estimated 520,694 by July 2024, according to DHS data. The Trump administration argues that such protections encourage further migration and has sought to roll them back.
The latest order places hundreds of thousands of migrants at risk of deportation in the coming months.
