Washington [US] October 5: The US Department of Homeland Security said on October 4 that President Joe Biden's administration will not renew a temporary humanitarian program for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have entered the US in recent years.
About 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have entered the United States by air since October 2022, sponsored by US citizens and allowed to stay for 2 years under the "provisional parole" program.
The program, which is set to end in the coming weeks, allows people sponsored by U.S. citizens to immigrate for humanitarian reasons or if their immigration is deemed to have a significant public benefit.
The US government created this program to help immigrants come to the US legally and to reduce illegal border crossings with Mexico.
Many illegal immigrants are being apprehended, but those incidents have dropped in recent months after President Biden put new restrictions in place at the border.
According to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Naree Ketudat, the decision not to extend the program for citizens of the four countries was made according to the department's original plan when the program began.
As a result, unauthorized immigrants "will need to depart the United States before their parole period expires or may be placed in deportation proceedings."
Other parole programs for Ukrainian and Afghan citizens have been extended.
However, most immigrants from these four countries have other ways to stay in the U.S. Many Cuban immigrants are eligible for permanent residence and eventually naturalization in the U.S. under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.
Most Haitians and Venezuelans in the US qualify for Temporary Protected Status, which grants them protection from deportation and work permits . Immigrants from those four countries can also apply for asylum.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
