Soon after taking the oath of office Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to secure borders, terminating all "humanitarian parole" programs that offer legal pathways to the U.S. from four countries.
The executive order ended the CHNV program that serves eligible people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. It allowed people from places in the midst of humanitarian crises such as a natural disaster or civil war, to enter, live and work in the U.S. for up to two years.
Immigrant advocates are sorting out the impact on people living in western Massachusetts.
Laurie Millman of the Center for New Americans said it's not clear yet how the decision to end the program will be implemented.
"Whether this simply puts an end to who's coming in or whether it impacts the status of people who are already here — I think it will take a few days for advocates to unpack it," Millman said.
"For those people who have been able to apply for another [immigration] status, it may not impact them immediately, but it feels like they have a very short timeline," she added.
Since 2023, 531,690 people have entered the U.S. under the program. More than 200,000 are from Haiti. Eligible applicants were required to have a sponsor, based in the U.S., and a background check.
The Biden administration paused the program in July because of fraud concerns. In late August it restarted issuing travel authorizations under the program.
Millman said she is hopeful there is a way to navigate the decision to end the program.
"One of the other things that the president said was that he's not opposed to legal immigration. So that's actually a glimmer of hope," Millman said. "This was all done legally."
