The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formally revoked parole status for more than half a million migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua on Thursday, effectively nullifying their temporary legal status and work authorization in the United States.
The policy shift follows a Supreme Court ruling affirming the Trump administration’s authority to terminate parole programs created under the Biden administration.
According to DHS officials, over 530,000 migrants had been granted entry through the controversial CHNV (Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela) parole programs. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the prior administration for circumventing proper vetting procedures and enabling broad access to the American labor market for foreign nationals at the expense of domestic workers.
“They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs,” McLaughlin said.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision overturned a lower federal judge’s temporary injunction that had stalled the Trump administration's move to revoke parole. The judge in question, who previously donated to Democratic campaigns, was cited by The Daily Wire for potential bias—a factor conservatives viewed as politically charged interference in immigration enforcement.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter via a post on Truth Social, lambasting former President Biden’s border policies and calling on migrants in the U.S. illegally to self-deport. “Those who are here illegally should either self deport using the CBP Home App or, ICE will find you and remove you. Saving America is not negotiable!” Trump wrote.
The administration has updated the previously immigration-friendly CBP app to support self-deportation efforts. Migrants now have the option to declare intent to leave voluntarily, with eligibility for a $1,000 travel stipend and coverage of departure costs—a sharp reversal from the app’s original use under Biden to facilitate parole entry.
Legal experts note that parole is not a guaranteed immigration benefit but a discretionary tool typically reserved for urgent humanitarian or public interest cases. The Trump administration contends that the Biden-era expansion of parole represented an unlawful overreach, effectively bypassing congressional authority over immigration admissions.
“Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” McLaughlin stated.