On January 20, Trump terminated the humanitarian parole program for at least the so-called CHNV countries. I am unable now to determine if similar programs for Ukrainians and Afghans have also been cancelled. This will almost certainly lead to hundreds of thousands of program beneficiaries being forced to leave the United States when their one or two-year stay is over.
This revocation of the program was 100% predictable. It is given little national media exposure because the media is fixated on Trump’s largely theatrical actions relating to the Mexican border (such as sending in elite troups to serve not to repel an invading forces but as construction workers).
On January 23, according to Welcome US, the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice directing immigration officials to review cases of individuals who are currently in the United States on humanitarian parole to determine whether to terminate their parole status and begin the process of removing them from the United States back to their home country.
Humanitarian parole was transformed by the Biden administration from a largely small scale program to much larger one, affecting hundreds of thousands of persons. it also introduced the requirement for financial sponsorships – a semi-privatization of humanitarian entry, because you needed a sponsor within the U.S. to be admitted.
Here is my overview of the Biden humanitarian parole programs…..and a summary of the National Immigration Forum’s in depth briefing on the program (go here for the entire document):
Humanitarian parole is a discretionary tool under the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows certain individuals to enter and temporarily stay in the U.S. without a visa. It’s granted for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, providing temporary lawful presence and protection from deportation. It’s temporary and doesn’t confer permanent status or a path to citizenship. It’s used in various scenarios, including medical treatment, family emergencies, and large-scale humanitarian crises. Parolees undergo vetting and background checks. It has been used in major operations like the evacuation from Vietnam in 1975 and Afghanistan in 2021. Parole does not lead to permanent status and limits access to some public benefits.