Parole Programs for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan Nationals Terminated by DHS

Quick Hits

• On March 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the immediate termination of the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole programs, affecting approximately 532,000 individuals who will lose their parole and associated benefits by April 24, 2025.

• The Trump administration has decided to end these programs, citing a lack of significant public benefit and inconsistency with foreign policy goals.

• Because CHNV beneficiaries will lose ancillary benefits such as employment authorization, employers will need to reverify the work authorization of affected employees by the April 24, 2025, deadline.

Background

Parole allows noncitizens who may otherwise be inadmissible to enter the United States for a temporary period and for a specific purpose. Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the secretary of homeland security, at the secretary’s discretion, to “parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as [the secretary] may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any alien applying for admission to the United States.”

The Biden administration implemented a temporary parole program for Venezuelan nationals in October 2022 to discourage irregular border crossings and later expanded the parole programs to include Cuban, Haitian, and Nicaraguan nationals in January 2023. The CHNV parole programs permitted up to 30,000 individuals per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the United States for a period of up to two years. Until January 22, 2025, approximately 532,000 individuals arrived in the United States by air under the CHNV parole programs.

The Biden administration announced in October 2024 that it would not extend legal status for individuals permitted to enter the United States under the CHNV parole programs but encouraged CHNV beneficiaries to seek alternative immigration options. On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intention to terminate the parole programs in Executive Order 14165, “Securing Our Borders.” Consistent with that executive order and the secretary of homeland security’s discretionary authority, Secretary Kristi Noem is now terminating the CHNV parole programs, having found the programs no longer “serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, … and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals.”

What This Means for Employers

According to the notice, any employment authorization derived through the CHNV parole programs will terminate on April 24, 2025. This will impact persons with Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in the (c)(11) category. Individuals without a valid alternative basis to remain in the United States are expected to depart the country upon the termination of their paroles on April 24, 2025.

CHNV beneficiaries may have already updated their Form I-9s with EAD cards with a validity date beyond April 24, 2025. Employers are expected to reverify affected employees’ work authorizations by April 24, 2025, to ensure continued compliance with Form I-9 employment eligibility verification rules. However, identifying which employees are impacted by this change prior to the April 24, 2025, expiration date may be challenging, since the public interest parolee EAD category code (c)(11) is typically not entered in the I-9 form or other personnel records.

In the Federal Register notice, DHS indicated it may use the expedited removal (deportation) process for any CHNV beneficiaries who do not depart the United States or obtain another lawful status by April 24, 2025. Under sections 235(b)(1) and 212(a)(9)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, expedited removal orders may not be appealed, and those removed through such means are subject to a five-year bar on reentry to the United States.

A lawsuit challenging the termination of CHNV parole has been filed.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will publish updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

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