Trump cancels 'parole' program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, tells 532,000 migrants to self-deport

The Trump administration has brought the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) immigration parole program to an end, ending work permits and legal status that some immigrants have had as they were brought into the US under the Biden administration.

Under the policy, a total of 532,000 immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua were brought into the United States, according to a memo released by the Department of Homeland Security ending the policy as framed by an executive order that President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office.

The Trump administration has also encouraged those now illegally in the US to self-deport after the program's end, with the memo noting, "Parolees without a lawful basis to remain in the United States following this termination of the CHNV parole programs must depart the United States before their parole termination date."

DHS said the agency "is terminating the categorical parole programs for inadmissible aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members" that the DHS "announced in 2022 and 2023" under Biden. All protections for those who were admitted under the program end on April 30. DHS will also seek the arrest and deportation of those who ignore the policy change and do not depart from the United States.

"These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals," the DHS notice added, highlighting that the parole program is typically used for "urgent humanitarian reasons," on a case-by-case basis instead of allowing for mass migration.

The CHNV program allowed for immigrants usually inadmissible to the US to be allowed in under terms of "parole" which "allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be paroled into the United States for a temporary period."

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, "An individual who is paroled into the United States has not been formally admitted into the United States for purposes of immigration law."

Those in the CHNV program were oftentimes flown into the United States and the last administration brought in up to 30,000 immigrants into the country a month, where they could then apply for asylum and reside in the US until their immigration court date, which was often years down the road.