Employer Impact: DHS Announces Termination of Parole Program for Nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela | Burr & Forman
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has announced plans to terminate a parole program that permitted more than 500,000 foreign nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the United States and obtain Employment Authorization Documents (“EAD”). The Trump administration entered an executive order on January 20, 2025, directing DHS to terminate the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans program (more commonly known as “CHNV”). As part of an announcement last week, DHS formally released a rule in the Federal Registry that will execute the termination, effective April 24, 2025.
Initially implemented in 2023, the CHNV parole program permitted up to 30,000 individuals per month from the above-referenced countries to enter the United States for up to a two-year period. Once in the United States, CHNV beneficiaries could obtain an EAD, which provided work authorization for the duration of the parole period.
The new DHS rule will not only terminate the CHNV program but also end the parole period for any CHNV beneficiary on April 24, 2025, regardless of the length of the initial approved period of stay. In the released rule, DHS also notes the agency “has determined that, after termination of the parole, the condition upon which the employment authorization was granted no longer exists and thus DHS intends to revoke parole-based employment authorization consistent with [revocation procedures.].”
It is unclear how many EADs will be revoked as a result of the new rule, but the number is likely to be significant given the number of people who benefited from the program. Those who hold EADs in connection with the CHNV program have a “C11” category designation on their EAD card, but the C11 designation does not exclusively correspond to CHNV beneficiaries. When the administration initiated steps to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals last month, DHS issued guidance on expiring work authorization. Currently, no such work authorization guidance has been issued for CHNV, but DHS would typically be required to provide notice of EAD revocation to impacted workers under these circumstances.
Assuming all CHNV EADs are revoked, employers will need to re-verify impacted individuals through the I-9 process in order to continue employment. Employers should not terminate employees simply because they become aware the employee has an upcoming work authorization expiration. Under the I-9 rules, employees must provide either one List A document or a combination of one List B document and one List C document. It is the employee’s decision which document to provide.
The Burr & Forman immigration team is continuing to monitor the CHNV program termination and its impact on employers.
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