On March 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it was terminating humanitarian parole status for Cubans and certain other Latin Americans in the U.S., effective April 24th.[1]
“Humanitarian parole is a temporary immigration status that allows individuals facing urgent humanitarian crises to enter the United States legally.
“Humanitarian parole is a legal authority that has been used for nearly a century by Republican and Democratic presidents alike to respond to humanitarian crises. For example, President Eisenhower admitted nearly 30,000 people from Hungary following the collapse of the anti-Communist revolution. From the 1960s–1990s, presidents of both parties used humanitarian parole to establish programs that helped hundreds of thousands people fleeing persecution from Cuba, Vietnam, Indochina, and other areas arrive safely in the United States. And most recently, it has been used to help Afghans after the takeover of their country by the Taliban in 2021; Ukrainians after the Russian invasion in 2022; as well as Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans fleeing persecution from authoritarian leaders and Haitians seeking safety as their government collapsed.”
“Individuals with humanitarian parole seeking to remain in the United States and those concerned for their safety can consult this guide to alternative legal options for humanitarian parolees.” [2]
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[1] Parole status to be terminated for CHNV newcomers (Mar. 21, 2025); Donald Trump revokes the humanitarian parole that benefited hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Diario de Cuba (Mar. 22, 2025).
[2] Alternative legal options for humanitarian parolees, Welcome.US (Mar. 21, 2025).
COMMENT: Criticism of Trump’s Cancelling Humanitarian Parole for Cubans
“Cuban-American Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar stated on her X account that “Trump is correcting the immigration disaster left by Biden.”
However, she added, “these people fled failed communist regimes hoping to find freedom and opportunity in the U.S., only to be betrayed by inconsistent and mismanaged policies . The Trump administration should acknowledge this reality and not punish them for Biden’s mistakes. Let’s give them the opportunity to access the protections they were promised.”
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Maria Elvira Salazar after the parole revocation, Trump shouldn’t punish migrants for Biden’s mistakes, Diario de Cuba (Mar. 23, 2025), https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1742726783_60416.html
COMMENT: Federal Judge Plans To Stop U.S. Removal of Cubans and Others on Humanitarian Parole
On April 10, a federal judge in Boston “signaled she will stop the Trump administration from removing deportation protections for more than a half-million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were admitted into the United States under a humanitarian parole program during the Biden presidency.”
This “decision will allow the paroled migrants to stay in the United States as they pursue immigration benefits. In effect, it will prevent the Department of Homeland Security from revoking their parole status as part of an administration plan.”
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Judge plans to block Trump move to deport a half-million Cubans and other migrants, Miami Herald (April 11, 2025).
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article303959946.html#storylink=cpy
A U.S. judge blocks the cessation of temporary status for humanitarian parole beneficiaries, including Cubans, Diario de Cuba (April 11, 2025), https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1744365115_60656.html