WASHINGTON 鈥� The Biden administration will not extend a two-year program that allows migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua into the U.S. if they came by plane with sponsorship.
The decision has major implications for South Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan communities in the nation.
The program began in 2022 with Venezuelans and was an effort to provide an alternative legal pathway for migrants who were increasingly coming to the U.S.-Mexico border while the administration simultaneously cracked down on illegal crossings. It later expanded to Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans 鈥� the nationalities of the migrants who most frequently tried to cross the border. The program allowed them to live and work in the U.S. for two years while they sought other legal status.
The latest federal data shows that about 214,000鈥� Haitians, 117,000 Venezuelans, 111,000 Cubans and 96,000 Nicaraguans have settled into the U.S. under the humanitarian parole program.
The decision comes just a month before the 2024 presidential election, as Democrat Kamala Harris has worked to . Republican Donald Trump has derided the administration's immigration policies and has increasingly about migrants in the U.S., particularly Haitians, in recent weeks.
Homeland Security officials said Friday that those at the two-year mark must apply for another type of legal status, depart the country or face deportation. There are multiple different pathways for many of the nationalities, including what's called 鈥渢emporary protected status鈥� for Venezuelans and Haitians, which allows them to stay in the U.S. because of extreme violence, unrest or devastating natural disasters in their home countries.
鈥淭his two-year period was intended to enable individuals to seek humanitarian relief or other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible, and to work and contribute to the United States,鈥� Homeland Security spokesperson Naree Ketudat said.
New migrants to the border may still apply for the program, and it does not affect those from Afghanistan or Ukraine.
港澳天下彩Staff contributed to this report.
