Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) Terminated

At a Glance

• Effective March 25, 2025, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has terminated humanitarian parole for beneficiaries from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The termination, which was published in the Federal Register, ends the protection from removal and ability to extend work authorization of more than 530,000 current beneficiaries and their immediate family members.
• The termination does not affect individuals granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), another form of humanitarian relief. Notably, Haiti and Nicaragua remain under active TPS designation at this time, and Venezuelans who were issued TPS under Venezuela’s 2021 designation, will continue to be protected from removal and preserve their work authorization through September 10, 2025.

Effective immediately, the termination of the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) affects all beneficiaries who were granted protection from removal and work authorization for up to two years. More than 530,000 are estimated to be beneficiaries of the CHNV parole program initiated under the Biden administration to allow individuals from the four countries to seek parole at the border to enter the United States and reside and work temporarily for up to two years at a time at the discretion of the U.S. government.

As previously noted in our related client alert, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped accepting new applications in compliance with the January 20 Securing Our Borders executive order, after the Trump administration terminated the CHNV and Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) parole programs.

The immediate effect of the termination is likely to cause confusion amongst individuals who were beneficiaries of the program, and U.S. employers alike. Those with terminated CHNV parole will need to depart the United States within 30 days of the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register — i.e., April 24, 2025 — unless they have other grounds to remain in the U.S., such as a pending asylum application or TPS status. DHS indicated its intention to proceed with removing former beneficiaries of the program following the expiration of the 30-day period, but also indicated it reserves the right to remove individuals within the 30-day period. DHS also indicated it will start the process of sending termination notices to beneficiaries. Pending applications will not be processed and/or granted.

What This Means for Employers

For U.S. employers, the termination means that they will no longer be able to continue employing individuals who previously provided CHNV parole documents to gain lawful employment in the United States. It is always best practice for employers to audit their I-9s periodically. If an employer has never or seldom performed internal I-9 audits up until now, this is the time to confer with its immigration counsel on the next steps for individuals with terminated CHNV work authorization.

For More Information

For additional information, you can register for Faegre Drinker’s immigration and global mobility team’s Business Immigration Webinar Series: Compliance & Hiring Strategies for 2025, and listen to its February 11, 2025, webinar related to Immigration and Worksite Enforcement Considerations for Employers Under Trump 2.0, and register for its upcoming webinar Business Immigration Update: Trump Presidency After 100 Days scheduled for May 13, 2025.