On March 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, citing Executive Order 14165, “Securing Our Borders,” published a notice in the Federal Register terminating the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, better known as the CHNV program, and terminating parole status for any CHNV participants whose parole had not expired by April 24, 2025. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 531,690 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully and were granted parole under the CHNV program.¹ 

The Biden administration used its discretionary parole authority under U.S. law to create five new programs to admit individuals from abroad. One of those was the CHNV program, which  had a limit on approvals of 30,000 per month. To be eligible, participants need to have a U.S.-based financial sponsor, and if approved, were received parole status for two years and eligible to be issued a work permit. On October 4, 2023, the Biden administration had announced that there would not be a process for participants to renew their parole status, and that they would need to transition to another lawful status in order to remain in the United States. 

Impact:  Termination of CHNV will effectively also end the validity of work permits for any parolees whose status is terminated—leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without the basic workplace protections that having a work permit provides—and former CHNV participants will become deportable if they have not already departed the United States.