SALT LAKE CITY — With the impending conclusion of a humanitarian parole program, immigrants from Venezuela, along with nationals from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua, face an uncertain future in Utah and throughout the United States. This program, established under the administration of President Joe Biden in October 2022, has granted temporary relief to approximately 532,000 individuals from these countries.
The decision to terminate the CHNV parole programs, acronym for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, has been influenced by President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at intensifying measures to curtail illegal immigration. The cessation, orchestrated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is set to officially roll out on April 24, as announced to be documented in the Federal Register this coming Tuesday.
In Utah, the effect of this program’s end is not trivial, as noted by Carlos Trujillo, an immigration lawyer based in South Jordan. “A significant number of people here in Utah, especially Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, have benefited from this humanitarian parole,” Trujillo stated. He also revealed knowledge of a potential legal challenge against this decision emanating from Massachusetts.
If unchallenged, or if the challenge fails, those covered under this program must exit the U.S. by April 24 or risk facing deportation. According to a draft order from the Department of Homeland Security, the immediate aim after the cutoff date is to expedite the removal of individuals who no longer possess any legal grounds to remain in the U.S.
This move is part of broader actions taken by the Trump administration aiming to reduce immigrant numbers in the U.S. Earlier in February, Secretary Noem reversed a Biden-era decision that provided temporary protected status to some 350,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. — a decision that is also facing a legal contest.
Moreover, the Trump administration has strengthened security measures along the U.S.-Mexico border and has increased efforts to track, detain, and deport immigrants present illegally in the U.S. Despite these stringent measures, Trujillo emphasized the legality and importance of the now-ending humanitarian parole program, which allowed properly vetted immigrants to live and work in the U.S. for up to two years.
The termination of these parole programs has sparked considerable frustration among the immigrant community. “Many believed the deportations were targeted at criminals within our community, but this isn’t the case,” Trujillo said. He expressed concerns over the broad implications of these policies, including their impact on law-abiding immigrants who integrate into society by working and paying taxes.
While the administration argues that these initiatives have not yielded their intended outcomes — namely managing immigration flows — and therefore do not align with current foreign policy goals, Trujillo fears the focal point of these policies has shifted towards mass deportations, disregarding individual circumstances such as asylum claims due to persecution in their home countries.
It is worth noting that while these decision points seem to indicate a reprieve in migrant surges from late 2022, the administration insists that its current strategies at the southwest border are sufficiently deterring illegal immigration, raising debates over the necessity and humanitarian aspects of these parole programs.
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