Trump administration moves to end temporary status for 530,000 Cubans, Venezuelans and others

The Trump administration is moving to end temporary legal status for more than 530,000 people who arrived in the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to end temporary legal status for more than 530,000 people who arrived in the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela through Biden-era temporary parole programs, according to a Federal Register document posted on Friday.

The parole programs are set to end on April 24, 30 days after the document is expected to be officially published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. People who had parole under these programs “must depart the United States before their parole termination date,” the document said.

The move comes after President Donald Trump on his first day in office directed his administration to “terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States,” pointing specifically to parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in the notice that her department’s termination of the parole programs “directly” fulfills Trump’s order and “complements and underscores the Administration’s pivot to a foreign policy that prioritizes the United States’ interests in a secure border.”

“These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals,” she said in the document.