Federal officials say the programs posed security risks due to insufficient vetting, as the administration moves to restrict parole and roll back protections expanded under the prior administration.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Homeland Security is terminating family reunification parole programs for immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, ending a pathway that allowed certain foreign family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to enter the country temporarily while pursuing permanent residency.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the decision in a Dec. 12 alert, saying the programs contained security gaps caused by inadequate vetting that created what the agency described as an unacceptable national security risk.
The family reunification parole programs allowed eligible immigrants to enter and remain in the United States on a temporary basis while applying for green cards or other immigration benefits. Once admitted, participants could seek to adjust their status without waiting abroad for visa processing to conclude.
USCIS said the structure of the programs allowed malicious actors to exploit weaknesses in screening procedures. “This administration is ending the abuse of humanitarian parole, which allowed poorly vetted aliens to circumvent the traditional parole process,” the agency said, adding that parole would return to a case-by-case system as intended by Congress. DHS described the move as part of a broader shift toward “America First” immigration policies.
Under the new policy, immigrants paroled into the United States through the family reunification programs whose parole does not expire before Jan. 14, 2026, will have their parole terminated on that date, USCIS said. The only exception applies to individuals with a pending Form I-485 application to adjust status that was filed on or before Dec. 15 and remains pending as of Jan. 14.
In those cases, parole will remain valid until it expires or until immigration authorities issue a final decision on the application, whichever occurs first. If the application is denied, parole will immediately end, requiring the individual to depart the United States. Employment authorization tied to parole status will also be revoked upon termination.
“The desire to reunite families does not overcome the government’s responsibility to prevent fraud and abuse and to uphold national security and public safety,” USCIS said, adding that DHS is prioritizing the safety, security, and economic well-being of Americans.
The termination of the family reunification parole programs comes amid a series of immigration policy changes under the Trump administration. On Dec. 12, DHS said Secretary Kristi Noem was ending Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians, a designation that allows nationals of certain countries to live and work in the United States when conditions prevent safe return. In recent months, DHS has also ended TPS for nationals of Haiti, Venezuela, Burma, Syria, and South Sudan.
Those actions have drawn legal challenges. On Nov. 19, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla temporarily blocked the administration from ending TPS benefits for more than 6,000 Syrians, ruling that the termination was likely unlawful. Failla said the government appeared to have ended protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants without adequately evaluating conditions in each country, as required by federal law. The administration has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
In a Dec. 12 post on X, DHS criticized the prior administration for what it called a reckless acceleration of refugee admissions from countries affected by terrorism and gang activity, including Somalia, without sufficient vetting. DHS said current leadership is taking corrective steps to ensure that those present in the United States are eligible to remain.
As part of those efforts, USCIS announced earlier this month that it is establishing a new Vetting Center in Atlanta to strengthen immigration screening. The center will integrate classified and unclassified resources to identify criminal aliens, terrorists, and others who pose threats to public safety or have committed fraud.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said the agency had been pressured under the previous administration to expedite immigration processing at the expense of security. “We changed that approach on day one of the Trump administration,” Edlow said. “Under President Donald Trump, we are building more protective measures that ensure fraud, deception, and threats do not breach the integrity of our immigration system.”
Original article
Comments