CEDA Warns of Chaotic Consequences from Termination of CHNV Parole Program
Washington, D.C. – The Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA) is deeply concerned by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate the CHNV parole program, which jeopardizes the safety of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and undermines efforts to stabilize regional migration systems.
The CHNV parole program has been a contributing factor in the reduction of irregular crossings at the US-Mexico border. Notably, irregular crossings (between Ports of Entry) for Cubans and Nicaraguans decreased by over 98% within two months of its implementation, though multiple factors likely influenced this decline. Terminating a legal and orderly migration pathway risks fueling irregular migration, empowering traffickers, and increasing instability along migration routes. Border systems are already overburdened and overwhelmed; the end of the CHNV program will hinder the ability of the United States to process and manage migration effectively while diverting resources from addressing broader immigration challenges.
“Shutting down lawful pathways will not prevent migration—it will only push desperate people into the hands of traffickers and cartels, fuel irregular crossings, increase suffering, and undermine regional cooperation on migration management,” said María José Espinosa, Executive Director of CEDA. “By eliminating the CHNV parole program—and potentially revoking status for those already admitted—the administration is dismantling one of the few functional migration policies that provided an orderly, humane, and effective alternative to irregular migration.”
Irregular encounters include encounters that occur between Points of Entry, recorded by Border Patrol Agents. Regular encounters occur at Points of Entry and are recorded by CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
Without viable legal alternatives like CHNV, the US will face increased irregular migration flows, overwhelming border processing systems, straining resources, and undercutting recent efforts to create regional solutions. The policy shift will create additional backlogs in U.S. immigration courts, increase pressure on asylum systems, and place unnecessary burdens on local communities receiving new arrivals. The decision undermines U.S. credibility in promoting regional migration frameworks and weakens efforts to build sustainable, protection-centered migration policies across the Americas.
CEDA urges the administration to reinstate the CHNV parole program and recommit to solutions that prioritize safety, regional cooperation, and effective migration pathways, rather than reverting to ineffective, enforcement-only approaches that will exacerbate instability at the border and empower criminal networks.
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This chart includes regular and irregular encounters – at and between points of entry.
This chart includes regular and irregular encounters – at and between points of entry.
CHNV parole program: A humanitarian parole program established in October 2022 for Venezuelans and expanded in January 2023 to certain nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to apply for entry to the US for a period of up to two years.
Title 42: An emergency health authority exercised under the previous Trump and Biden administrations that permitted U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the US-Mexico border, ostensibly to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP): The CFRP Program allows certain eligible U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to apply for parole for their family members in Cuba. If they are granted parole, the family members are permitted to come to the United States without waiting for their immigrant visas to become available.
CBP One - A mobile device application established in October 2020 for the purpose of allowing travelers to access certain agency functions on mobile devices. It was later expanded in 2023 to be the avenue that migrants at the U.S. Mexico border use to seek asylum at ports of entry. Through the use of the application, migrants can pre-schedule appointments for processing and maintain guaranteed asylum eligibility.