By: Kyle Spohn, 2L
On March 25, 2025, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans—revoking legal residency for hundreds of thousands of individuals.
These humanitarian parole programs (referred to as the “CHNV programs”) were introduced in early 2023 by the Biden Administration’s DHS to provide legal pathways of entry for citizens of those four countries fleeing political instability and inhumane conditions. The programs allowed up to 30,000 people per month from each country to reside and work in the United States for a two-year period, provided they had a U.S. financial sponsor and passed background checks. Approximately 532,000 individuals currently reside in the U.S. under these programs.
In its Federal Register Notice, DHS announced that parole protections will expire on April 24, 2025, and stated that all individuals in the programs must depart the U.S. by that date or face deportation. DHS’ termination decision is pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order 14165, which ordered DHS to “take all appropriate action” to terminate categorical parole programs, including the CHNV programs. In the notice, DHS called the programs ineffective and “inconsistent with American foreign policy goals.”
Not only will CHNV program residents be at risk of deportation, but they are also now considered a priority for DHS deportation efforts and are subject to expedited removal. This strict enforcement was established in a January 23 directive by the Acting Secretary of DHS.
DHS’ termination notice has left hundreds of thousands of legal residents and their families in legal limbo and has sparked political controversy. A lawsuit on behalf of affected migrants has already been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief and a temporary protective order as the termination date approaches.
The announcement has also drawn political criticism. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Miami-Dade County, has called on the Trump Administration to reconsider. Salazar, who represents South Florida and its large Cuban American community, wrote on X that Trump should “recognize th[e] reality” of those seeking to escape “failed communist regimes.” According to Eskinder Negash, President and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, “the mass revocation of parole status through the Federal Register notice creates unnecessary chaos and uncertainty for people who were granted humanitarian protection in the United States.” With the rights of hundreds of thousands of migrants hanging in the balance, the coming legal and political responses will be critical.
