Trump administration tells immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and
Venezuela they have to leave
[June 13, 2025]
By GISELA SALOMON
MIAMI (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it
has begun notifying hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians,
Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that their temporary permission to live and
work in the United States has been revoked and that they should leave
the country.
The termination notices are being sent by email to people who entered
the country under the humanitarian parole program for the four
countries, officials said.
Since October 2022, about 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and
Venezuela were allowed to enter the U.S. under the program created by
the Biden administration. They arrived with financial sponsors and were
given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S.
DHS said that the letters informed people that both their temporary
legal status and their work permit was revoked “effective immediately."
It encouraged any person living illegally in the U.S. to leave using a
mobile application called CBP Home and said that individuals will
receive travel assistance and $1,000 upon arrival at their home country.
The department did not provide details on how the U.S. government will
find or contact the people once they leave or how they will receive the
money.
Trump promised during his presidential campaign to end what he called
the “broad abuse” of humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool
presidents have used to allow people from countries where there’s war or
political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S.
Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S.
illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways
created for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay and work.
His decision to end the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans
and Venezuelans was challenged at the courts, but the Supreme Court last
month permitted the Trump administration to revoke those temporary legal
protections.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference
regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12,
2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Immigration advocates expressed concern over the Trump
administration decision to send the notices to more than a half
million individuals.
It “is a deeply destabilizing decision,” said Krish O'Mara
Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, a nonprofit organization
that supports refugees and migrants entering the U.S. “These are
people that played by the rules... they passed security screenings,
paid for their own travel, obtained work authorization, and began
rebuilding their lives.”
Zamora, a 34-year-old Cuban mother who arrived under the sponsorship
of an American citizen in September 2023, said she fears
deportation. However, for now, she has no plans to leave the
country.
“I am afraid of being detained while my son is at school,” said
Zamora, who asked to be identified only by her last name out of fear
of being deported. “I’m afraid to return to Cuba, the situation is
very difficult there.”
Zamora said she has sought other ways to remain in the U.S. legally
through the Cuban Adjustment Act, a law that allows Cubans who have
arrived legally to the U.S. and meet certain requirements to apply
to get a green card.
Although her process has not been approved yet, she is hopeful it
may allow her to remain legally in the U.S. In the meantime, she
said that she will stop working at a clinic if needed.
“I’m going to wait quietly without getting into trouble,” the Cuban
said.
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