The U.S. Department of Homeland Security temporarily paused parole processing for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Under the parole program, qualifying individuals are eligible to remain in the U.S. for up to two years with employment authorization. The program is offered to qualifying individuals from countries facing an ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.

The pause is due to concerns over the validity of submitted financial sponsors. Under the program, individuals most provide a contact who agrees to provide financial support. It is unclear how long the parole processing has been upheld.

Under President Biden’s activation of parole processing for qualifying individuals from these four countries, an estimated 500,000 individuals arrived in the U.S. through June 2024. The program offers eligible individuals a path to legal entry outside of the asylum process. Further, the program intends to reduce illegal entry. DHS stated new authorizations have been temporarily paused as the backgrounds of financial sponsors are reviewed.

DHS further commented that there are no known security or public safety concerns about individuals who have entered the U.S. under the parole program. The concern is solely focused on sponsors. Application processing will begin as soon as possible, with an increase in safeguards, per DHS. The discovery of paused processing was noticed by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR. The group noted an internal Homeland Security report identifying a potential fraud concern. FAIR stated that the report found 3,218 sponsors were included on over 100,000 filings. Further, they stated of the top 1,000 Social Security numbers used by sponsors, 24 were for individuals who passed.

Parole for Venezuelans began in October 2022. Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua became eligible in January 2023. Per the policy, the U.S. accepts a maximum of 30,000 people per month from each of the eligible countries. Per U.S. Customs and Border Protection, through June 2024, a total of 194,000 Haitians, 104,000 Cubans, 86,000 Nicaraguans, and 110,000 Venezuelans have benefited from the program.

Illegal crossing arrests from these four countries has dropped substantially since the program was activated. As an example, illegal crossing arrests for individuals from Haiti fell to 304 between January and June 2024 versus the high of 18,000 in September 2021.

As always, if you have questions about parole or any other immigration-related issue, contact us. We work with our clients to ensure they get the right advice to stay always in compliance.

Humanitarian Parole Program TPS