By Maria Ortiz
04 Oct 2024, 17:54 PM EDT
The United States will not renew the legal humanitarian permit for two years given to immigrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela who arrived in the country under the sponsorship program known as “humanitarian parole” that was implemented to reduce the crossings of undocumented immigrants at the border, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Instead, immigrants who came to the United States under the Biden Administration’s immigration policy will be told to try to obtain legal status through other immigration programs, leave the country or face deportation proceedings. .
More than half a million people of these four nationalities have entered the country under the program, which began in October 2022 for Venezuelans and was extended to the other three nationalities in February 2023.
The decision, announced less than a month before the 2024 elections, coincides with criticism of the program by Republicans and their presidential candidate, Donald Trump, who also assured that if elected he would end it.
The “humanitarian parole” program, for which you need to have a sponsor in the US, grants beneficiaries permission to enter and work legally in the country for a period of two years.
“This two-year period was intended to allow individuals to seek humanitarian assistance or other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible, and to work and contribute to the United States,” department spokesperson Naree Ketudat said in a statement.
Joe Bien’s government launched this program as part of its strategy to stop illegal immigration to the US and imposed restrictions on asylum on the border with Mexico.
Some 110,000 Cubans, 210,000 Haitians, 93,000 Nicaraguans and 117,000 Venezuelans have entered the United States under this program, according to the latest data provided by DHS.
The people of Venezuela and Haiti who have arrived in the country with “parole” before July 2023 and June 2024, respectively, They have the possibility of applying for a benefit called Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The immigrants from Cuba have the opportunity to obtain a Green Card, thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Law, a 1966 law that allows certain Cubans to apply for permanent residency while in the country.
But The nearly 100,000 immigrants who arrived from Nicaragua through the program could find themselves in a particularly difficult situation. They will not have a clear path to temporary protection and will need to obtain another way to stay in the country legally, such as asylum.
DHS reported that new applicants from all four countries will continue to be accepted. Similar programs exist for Afghan and Ukrainian immigrants that allowed them to extend their stay.
Keep reading:
• The US resumed humanitarian permits for Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti
• The US suspends humanitarian permits for 4 countries
• USCIS updates humanitarian visa program for Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela