The US government suspended the processing of all migratory requests submitted by Haitians, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who entered the country with humanitarian parole. Pause also applies to some Ukrainians and family reunification beneficiaries.
The US authorities established an administrative suspension to all migratory requests presented by Haitians, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrived in the United States with humanitarian parole, confirmed to the Voice of America A spokesman for the National Security Department (DHS).
The pause, which covers the applications presented to the United States citizenship and immigration service (USCIS, in English), also applies to the Ukrainians who entered the country under the Unification program by Ukraine, known as U4U, and the family reunification process that benefited people from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
DHS established that the suspension will be in force until “additional investigations are completed to identify any fraud, public security or national security concerns.” However, it did not offer an exact date of how much that review would take.
These programs were established by the administration of Joe Biden, as they said, as part of their strategy to combat irregular migration. Under the humanitarian parole, the entrance to the United States of about 530,000 people from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela was allowed.
These programs, however, were temporarily conceived and offered permits to reside and work in the country for two years, so the beneficiaries had to apply to other migratory benefits if they sought to stay longer in the United States.
What does this pause imply?
The suspension implies that, for example, cases of asylum or temporary protection status (TPS) that have been requested by those who arrived in the country under the CHNV, U4U or family reunification will not be processed.
In the case of Cubans, in addition, the Pause would affect permanent residence requests to which they have access through the Cuban adjustment law that offers a way to that document one year after their arrival in the US.
The expert of the Institute of Migration Policies, Kathleen Bush-Joseph, said on social networks that despite this suspension, people “cannot be deported without an order of removal” and this implies that current applications “must be previously decided” .
On his first day of mandate, President Donald Trump finished these temporary programs for considering them “contrary to US policies.”
Besides, ended the TPS designated in 2023 for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and established their expiration date for April 7, 2025.
(Additional report by Aline Barros, journalist from La LA Youth)