The Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday that it will cancel legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, making them eligible for deportation within a month.

The decision affects approximately 532,000 individuals from these four countries who arrived in the U.S. in October 2022 with financial sponsors. They were granted two-year permits to live and work in the country. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that their legal status will expire on April 24, or 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.

This policy change impacts individuals already in the U.S. under the humanitarian parole program. It follows a previous decision by the Trump administration to end what it described as the “broad abuse” of humanitarian parole. This policy has historically allowed people fleeing war or political instability to stay in the U.S. temporarily.

At the time of the campaign, President Donald Trump pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. As president, he has also taken steps to restrict legal immigration pathways, making it more difficult for people to enter and remain in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security stated that individuals on parole who do not have a legal reason to stay in the U.S. must leave before their parole period ends. "Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status," DHS stated.

Previously, individuals benefiting from the program were allowed to stay in the U.S. until their parole period ended, even though the administration had halted the processing of their asylum, visa, and other applications that could extend their stay. The administration’s decision has already faced legal challenges in federal courts. A group of American citizens and immigrants have sued the Trump administration over the termination of humanitarian parole, seeking to have the program reinstated for the four affected nationalities. Meanwhile, lawyers and activists have strongly criticised the government's decision.

Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, criticised Friday’s action, stating that it is “going to cause needless chaos and heartbreak for families and communities across the country.” She described the decision as “reckless, cruel and counterproductive.” Tumlin’s organisation was among those that filed the lawsuit at the end of February.

The Biden administration permitted up to 30,000 people per month from four specific countries to enter the U.S. for a two-year period with work eligibility. At the same time, it reached an agreement with Mexico to accept the same number of migrants from those nations, as the U.S. had limited ability to deport them directly. Cuba typically allowed one deportation flight per month, while Venezuela and Nicaragua refused to accept deportees. All three countries have adversarial relations with the U.S. Haiti has received numerous deportation flights, particularly after a large influx of migrants from the country arrived in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. However, ongoing instability in Haiti has complicated U.S. efforts.

Since late 2022, over half a million people have entered the U.S. through a program known as CHNV. This initiative is part of the Biden administration’s strategy to promote legal migration pathways while tightening restrictions on illegal border crossings.