DHS to Revoke Legal Status of 532,000 Migrants Under Sponsorship Programs

The Trump administration announced that it plans to revoke the legal status of 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who came into the United States under a sponsorship process during the Biden administration.

The termination, known as parole, will take effect on April 24, 30 days after published in the Federal Register on March 25, according to a 35-page notice posted by the federal government.

Migrants are being urged by the administration to self-deport or face arrest and removal by deportation agents. They should report their departure once outside the United States via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Home mobile app, according to the notice.

The program, referred to as CHNV, was implemented during the Biden administration to give migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela an opportunity to enter the country legally.

“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,” the notice said.

Between Oct. 19, 2022, and Jan. 22, approximately “532,000 inadmissible aliens received parole into the United States pursuant to the CHNV parole programs,” HHS said.

The program was first launched for people coming from Venezuela in 2022 and was expanded for migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua in January 2023.

In October, the Biden administration said it would not be extending the protection for roughly 214,000  Haitians, 117,000 Venezuelans, 111,000 Cubans and 96,000 Nicaraguans. They were urged to apply for other immigration benefits, including for those could qualify for asylum.

Under the program, migrants and their immediate family members could fly into the United States if they had American sponsors, and were permitted to remain in the country for two years under the parole program.

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