Trump Ends Family Reunification Parole for Cuba

The Department of Homeland Security announced last week the end of the Family Reunification Parole (FRP) program for nationals from Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras. 

People from those countries who are currently in the U.S. under Family Reunification Parole and had not applied for residency or a change of status by December 15 will have their legal status and work permits revoked. 

“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,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. 

Family Reunification Parole joins the list of programs under which Cubans could legally enter the U.S. that have been dismantled by the Trump administration. These include Biden’s CBP One and Humanitarian Parole programs, whose termination put many of the over half million Cubans who entered the U.S. through them at risk of deportation. 

A partial travel ban on Cubans has been in place since June. Trump earlier this month also suspended pending citizenship, green card and asylum applications for immigrants from countries “of concern,” including Cuba. More than a thousand Cubans have been deported to the island this year.