for Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians
From January 2023 to July 2024, 90,000 Nicaraguans legally entered the United States with permission to stay and work for two years, under a program known as humanitarian parole. The future of this immigration program is highly uncertain.
By La Prensa
HAVANA TIMES – The first Nicaraguans who entered the US through the humanitarian parole program established at the beginning of 2023 now have less than four months left before their two-year permission to reside and work legally in the United States expires.
The program was approved on January 6, 2023, for Nicaraguans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Cubans. From that date until July 2024, 520,000 paroles were approved among the four nationalities, according to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP). Of these, 95,000 are Nicaraguans.
A review by La Prensa of CBP’s monthly reports shows that 7,000 Nicaraguans were approved for humanitarian parole in February 2024, and 6,800 in April. Those were the peak months, while at other times approval numbers ranged from 4,000 – 6,000 cases monthly.
The question on everyone’s mind: What will happen in January 2025?
The current electoral context in the United States has only increased the migrants’ uncertainty. The political campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump has focused on attacking the immigration policy of current US President Joe Biden. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has said nothing about the parole program. Meanwhile, for many migrants the situation in their countries of origin has deteriorated still further.
As time goes by, questions and speculations about the immigration benefit multiply, but there are no concrete answers.
Manuel Orozco, director of Inter-American Dialogue’s “Migration, Remittances and Development” program, states that extending the period of the humanitarian parole is “a factor that is not included in the migratory policies. Politically, in view of the electoral scenario, it does not seem likely that the parole will continue for more than six months.”
If the expiration dates arrive and there is no adjustment of status, he indicated, “there are no other options but to return to the country of origin. But those are individual decisions.”
Muriel Saenz, a noted immigration advocate in the United States, who works with the organization Nicaraguans in the World in Texas, agrees with Orozco. “Up until now, I have not heard that they are going to extend further permission for those who have parole. Staying in this country (without legal immigration status) after their permit expires means that they would be breaking the law, and they will face a lot of problems with immigration enforcement.”
Ukrainians offered “re-parole”
On February 27, 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that oversees the parole program, announced a process allowing Ukrainians to continue their temporary stay in the United States by applying for a new parole. In 2022, Ukrainians were the first group to benefit from Biden’s humanitarian parole initiative,
The USCIS announcement specified: “We encourage eligible Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members to submit their parole renewal applications to us no earlier than 180 days (6 months) prior to the expiration of their current parole period.”
However, immigration experts consulted for this story doubt that this “re-parole” will be an option for those from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. Orozco said that for Nicaraguans, the chances are slim.
Despite the overall pessimism, Saenz cautioned that if the US should decide to extend the program, “people who have parole must use their Uscis accounts and comply with whatever immigration process is required – that is, they should not be left without doing the paperwork. But, for now, as far as I know, there is no renewal.”
Attorney Cindy Blandón, an expert on migration issues in the United States, concurred. “I do not believe that there will be an extension, since the program was created as a response to the border crisis,” a situation that has diminished after the administration of President Joe Biden imposed other immigration measures.
All this means that at the end of the two-year period granted by the program, Nicaraguans who were favored and did not apply for another immigration benefit must return to their country.
Options to stay in the USA
The experts consulted by La Prensa all warned that once the parole period ends, the beneficiaries will have to return to their countries. Otherwise, their stay would be termed illegal and subject to the immigration agency’s deportation policies.
One option recommended by Saenz for those whose stay in the U.S. expires in the first three months of 2025 is to leave the country days before the expiration of their period, “and wait to be sponsored again by someone else”.
The specialists also explained that those who are afraid of returning to their countries can adjust their immigration status by applying for political asylum or another legal procedure. The application for political asylum must be submitted within one year of arriving in the United States, according to US immigration laws. A person who applies for asylum after the first year will be deemed ineligible.
If a person is approved for political asylum, he or she can then apply for residency and eventually become a US citizen. Asylum applicants can apply for a work permit 150 days after filing their application, and those granted asylum can apply for family reunification. [Note: the process is lengthy and complex and usually requires the help of a lawyer or immigration advocate. For those who don’t have documented proof, the final outcome is also uncertain.]
The second option is to marry a resident or US citizen. In order to do so, they will have to demonstrate to the authorities that there is a real affective bond.
A final option is for an immediate family member, such as father, mother, children, siblings or spouse, who already have a permanent immigration status in the United States (residency, citizenship), petition to allow their close family member to legalize his or her status.
First published in Spanish by La Prensa and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
Read more from Nicaragua here on Havana Times.
