The Trump administration is ending family reunification parole programs for immigrants from several countries, citing abuse of the humanitarian parole process.
The move applies to immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, and their immediate family members, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.
"This administration is ending the abuse of humanitarian parole that allowed poorly vetted aliens to circumvent the traditional parole process," a DHS news release states. "Parole was never intended to be used in this way, and DHS is returning parole to a case-by-case basis as intended by Congress. Ending the FRP programs is a necessary return to common-sense policies and a return to America First."
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The agency noted that the desire to reunite families does not supersede the federal government’s responsibility to prevent fraud and abuse, as well as to ensure national security and public safety.
"DHS acknowledges that aliens paroled into the United States under the FRP programs may have been able to reunite with family members in the United States," the Federal Register notice on the Family Reunification Program (FRP) termination states.
"However, upon further review of the scope and impact of the FRP programs in their totality, and in line with Executive Orders issued by President Trump, DHS has determined that national security and fraud concerns, along with the current administration’s priorities, outweigh those interests and weigh in favor of terminating the programs," it continued.
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In addition to ending the program, the administration is also terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Ethiopia.
"After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies, the Secretary determined that Ethiopia no longer continues to meet the conditions for the designation of Temporary Protected Status," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a notice posted in the Federal Register.
TPS is granted to individuals whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary event.
Eligible migrants are provided work authorization and temporary protection from deportation.
The Biden administration extended protections to about 600,000 Venezuelans and 521,000 Haitians. In February, Noem reversed the extensions, saying they were no longer justified.
The Trump administration has ended TPS for migrants from a number of countries, including Haiti, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela, amid its crackdown on illegal immigration.
In addition, President Donald Trump in November said he was ending deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota "effective immediately."
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