By Ana Ceballos
TALLAHASSEE
South Florida congressional members say they are concerned for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans suddenly under threat of deportation now that the Trump administration is ending a program that gave more than 500,000 immigrants a temporary legal pathway into the United States. “Let’s give them the opportunity to apply for the protections they were promised,” Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said in a statement Saturday afternoon.
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced that it will shut down the Biden-era humanitarian parole program known as CHNV – an acronym for the four countries enrolled – in late April. More than 531,000 people had been approved to enter the United States and stay for up to two years under the program, with Florida receiving 80% of the arriving migrants, according to the current administration. The move will give people who do not have some other form of legal immigration protection, such as a pending asylum application, 30 days to leave the United States. After that, people who came to the United States through the parole program will be prioritized for deportation, and will no longer be able to legally work in the country.
The Trump administration said the program – created as a means to help reduce illegal immigration from countries in crisis — is ineffective and “inconsistent” with the president’s foreign policy agenda. But several members of South Florida’s congressional delegation told the Miami Herald that immigrants who came here legally – including 75,000 who subsequently filed for asylum – shouldn’t be punished. Salazar, who has supported elements of Trump’s immigration crackdown, blamed former President Joe Biden for putting Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in “legal limbo.” But she said Trump should give people affected by the revocation of the program a chance to plead their case to stay.
“Trump is cleaning up Biden’s political mess, and the legal limbo the Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans are facing is entirely Biden’s fault. He fooled them,” said Salazar, whose majority-Hispanic district includes Little Havana. “They came here fleeing failed, communist countries believing in Biden’s empty promises. The Trump administration should take this under consideration and not punish them for Biden’s mistakes.”
Miami-Dade County’s two other Republican U.S. representatives, Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart, did not respond to requests for comment on Friday and Saturday. People paroled into the United States under the program were required to have a financial sponsor here, arrange for their airfare and pass health and background checks. As of December 2024, 531,690 people had come through the program, including 110,240 Cubans, 211,040 Haitians, 93,070 Nicaraguans, and 117,330 Venezuelans.
Immigrants who entered the United States under the CHNV parole program aren’t the only ones expected to lose deportation protections next month. Last month, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked an extension of Temporary Protected Status for more than 250,000 Venezuelans, who are set to lose protections on April 2. Another 500,000 Haitians are set to lose Temporary Protected Status in August. In addition to revoking legal protections, the Trump administration has also invoked a rarely used wartime law to deport alleged Venezuelans gang members without going through standard legal proceedings. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans, some of whom have said they have been wrongly accused. The Department of Justice has appealed and argued that the courts have no jurisdiction over actions involving alleged terrorists and foreign policy.
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat that represents a district that includes Little Haiti, North Miami and North Miami Beach, said her office has seen an uptick in the number of calls from immigrants who are “desperate for help” since Trump took office in late January.
“For many, being sent back isn’t just about crossing a border—it’s a death sentence,” Wilson said. “It means living under brutal dictatorships like in Cuba or facing life-threatening violence like in Haiti. Ending parole overnight isn’t just heartless—it’s dangerous. It will rip families apart, shatter livelihoods, and change the very fabric of South Florida.” Wilson said she will continue to fight in Congress for people who came to the country under the program, and called on Trump’s administration to “reverse this cruel decision.”
After the initial publication of this article, Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, South Florida’s lone Haitian-American U.S. representative, issued a statement in which she also called on the Trump administration to “reverse course immediately.” “As I’ve stated before, the abrupt removal of nearly half a million individuals is inhumane, irrational, and it will have an irreparable impact on businesses across the country and our economy at large,” she said. “Those with humanitarian parole status legally work and pay taxes in the U.S. Across South Florida and throughout the nation, they have strengthened our workforce, supporting our airports, our hospitals, our small businesses, and our schools.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents Weston, a city with a large Venezuelan population, said ending the program is unfair to people who came to the United States through a legal pathway. “They did it the right way. They followed the law,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Now, in an instant, Trump yanks their lawful immigration status and hangs the specter of ‘disappearing’ them out of the country, just like [Venezuela’s Nicolás] Maduro or any other out-of-control dictator would do.”
This article will be updated if additional members of South Florida’s congressional delegation respond to requests for comment.
Miami Herald reporters Jacqueline Charles and Syra Ortiz Blanes contributed to this report.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article302584254.html#storylink=cpy
