U.S. to End Legal Status for Over 500,000 Migrants

Trump Administration to End Biden-Era Humanitarian Parole Program for Migrants

The Trump administration announced Friday that it will revoke the legal protections granted to more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, ending a Biden-era program that allowed them to live and work in the United States under humanitarian parole. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the program, known as C.H.N.V., will officially end on April 24, 2025.

Launched in October 2022, the CHNV initiative was designed to address the surge of illegal border crossings by creating a legal migration pathway. Migrants from the four countries were allowed to fly directly to the U.S. if they had financial sponsors and passed security checks. The program enabled them to live and work in the country for up to two years, with potential for renewal. The White House / Wikimedia

Parole Status and Work Permits Set to Expire Following April 24 Termination Date

By the end of 2024, over 532,000 individuals had entered the U.S. under the program, according to ABC News. However, the Trump administration’s formal notice, set to be published in the Federal Register on March 25, declares that their parole status and work permits will be terminated 30 days later.

“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 DHS notice reads. Otherwise, they risk arrest and deportation. Omar Ornelas / USA TODAY NETWORK

Advocates Warn of Widespread Disruption for Affected Migrants

Critics warn of devastating consequences for hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom fled economic hardship and political unrest. “It’s taking the livelihood away from thousands and thousands of people who are here legally, rendering them undocumented and putting their lives at risk,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, according to The New York Times. I Am An Immigrant / YouTube

DHS Secretary Cites End of Humanitarian Need in Policy Justification

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem justified the policy change by stating in the notice that she “has concluded that neither urgent humanitarian reasons nor significant public benefit warrants the continued presence of aliens paroled under the CHNV programs and the purposes of such parole therefore have been served.” Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Fraud Concerns Prompted Biden-Era Pause and Restrictions Before Program’s Termination

While the Biden administration initially championed the program as a lawful and safe alternative to illegal border crossings, it came under fire in July 2024 when an internal review uncovered widespread fraud, according to the New York Post. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, thousands of applications listed fake Social Security numbers, duplicate addresses, and were submitted from the same IP addresses. One notable statistic: “Some 100 addresses were listed on over 19,000 forms.”

Following these revelations, the Biden administration paused the program and, by October 2024, barred further extensions of legal status for existing parolees. On his first day back in office, President Trump immediately halted new CHNV applications, paving the way for Friday’s sweeping rollback. Josh Morgan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

DHS Spokesperson Frames Policy Shift as a Return to Public Safety and Order

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said the decision reflects a return to “common-sense policies.” “The termination of the C.H.N.V. parole programs, and the termination of parole for those who exploited it, is a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” she said. @TriciaOhio / X

Employers May Face Labor Challenges as CHNV Participation Shifts

Employers, however, may feel the loss. Companies like Amazon and Honda have relied heavily on CHNV beneficiaries to fill labor shortages. “These people came here lawfully, and they have been contributing to the economy,” Jozef emphasized. Eden, Janine and Jim / Wikimedia

Legal Challenge Filed Against Termination of CHNV Parole Program

Advocacy groups have condemned the decision. Karen Tumlin of the Justice Action Center called the move “reckless, cruel and counterproductive,” adding, “Let’s be clear: Suddenly revoking the lawful status of hundreds of thousands of CHNV humanitarian parole recipients is going to cause needless chaos and heartbreak for families and communities across the country.”

A lawsuit filed by a group of sponsors, beneficiaries, and immigrant rights organizations including the Haitian Bridge Alliance challenges the Trump administration’s legal authority to dismantle the program. They argue the administration is violating Congressionally authorized pathways and “breaking a commitment the federal government made to the hundreds of thousands of American sponsors and beneficiaries who did everything the government asked of them to participate.” KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA / Pexels

DHS Defends Action, Alleging Program Facilitated Fraud and Job Competition

Meanwhile, a DHS official, in an email to Newsweek, took a hardline stance, alleging that the program under Biden “allowed more than half a million loosely vetted aliens” and “forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified.” The official also claimed that these individuals “compete for American jobs and undercut American workers.” The White House / Wikimedia

CHNV Rollback Part of Broader Immigration Policy Overhaul Under Trump Administration

The CHNV decision is just one piece of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Whether similar parole programs, such as the one created for 240,000 Ukrainian refugees, will meet the same fate remains to be seen. President Trump has stated he will decide soon on whether to revoke that program as well.

Setareh Ghandehari of Detention Watch Network sees the CHNV termination as part of a pattern. “It’s in line with the Trump administration’s multipronged strategy of wreaking havoc on immigrant communities and expanding the deportation and detention system,” she said, according to reporting from The New York Times. White House / Wikimedia