14ymedio, Havana, January 16, 2025 — In the last two months of 2024, no Cubans arrived in the United States through the Humanitarian Parole Program. Four days after Republican Donald Trump takes over the presidency, the program that came into force in 2023 and authorized travel for 110,970 citizens of the Island seems to be experiencing its sunset. Of that total, 970 people have not yet been processed to travel.
The figures offered by the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are overwhelming: in December 10 Cubans received travel authorization, however, they have not been able to finalize their transfer due to the lack of available commercial flights and logistical problems.
For about two years, the program has facilitated the legal arrival in the US of 531,690 Cubans, Haitians (213,150), Nicaraguans (96,270) and Venezuelans (120,760), but their stay in the country is temporary; that is, they are granted parole for two years. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Univision that these migrants “have 24 months to change their permanent status to any other available legal program, including asylum.”
The DHS stressed that “those who are not granted asylum or other immigration benefits will have to leave the United States at the end of their authorized probation period or, generally, will be placed in deportation proceedings after the probation period expires.”
Among those who were able to travel in December were 10 Venezuelans. In November, 10 Venezuelans, 10 Nicaraguans and 30 Haitians arrived in the United States.
In almost two years the program has favored the legal arrival in the US of 531,690 Cubans, as well as Haitians (213,150), Nicaraguans (96,270) and Venezuelans (120,760)
The decrease in the numbers came after the accusations of fraud reported between last July and August. On July 6, the program was suspended for Venezuelans and, days later, for other nationalities, until introducing the necessary changes to avoid irregularities. Among those detected were blank forms in the system, false phone numbers, postal codes that did not exist, social security numbers of dead people, repeated texts in thousands of applications and people who presented their documents more than once.
In August, the delivery of sponsors’ fingerprints and a more thorough review of applicants became mandatory, which reactivated the mechanism. However, for the US Congress, the program promoted by the Biden Administration is a “disaster plagued by fraud.”
In terms of CBP One application figures, almost 44,000 people were processed at ports of entry in December. From January 2023 to the end of December 2024, more than 936,500 people successfully scheduled appointments, mainly Venezuelans, Cubans and Mexicans.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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