The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it was terminating “all categorical family reunification parole programs for aliens from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, and their immediate family members.”
These FRP programs allowed “beneficiaries of approved I-130 petitions in the family-based preference categories to be paroled in the United States rather than waiting and proceeding through the immigrant visa process,” according to the nonprofit Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Now, if a person’s parole has not expired on Jan. 14, 2026, it will terminate on that date and they should leave before then, DHS said.
“This administration is ending the abuse of humanitarian parole which allowed poorly vetted aliens to circumvent the traditional parole process. 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,” a statement reads in part.
Employment authorization would also be revoked.
Exceptions include:
- If a person has a pending Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, that is postmarked or electronically filed on or before Dec. 15, 2025, and is still pending on Jan. 14, 2026.
In that case, their parole would remain valid until it expires or if DHS makes a final decision on the pending Form I-485.
“If we deny their Form I-485, their period of parole will be terminated, and they should depart the United States immediately,” the statement reads.
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