affects Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians
Thousands of irregularities have been discovered in applications. Some 90,000 Nicaraguans have received parole so far, although not all have traveled.
By Ivan Olivares (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – The United States government has temporarily suspended the humanitarian parole program that benefits citizens of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti, after detecting numerous suspected fraud cases in applications submitted by many sponsors, some of whom were reportedly behind the arrival of up to 30 people into US territory.
The program is suspended, not canceled, the United States Department of Homeland Security clarified to numerous media outlets in the country. To date, around 90,000 Nicaraguans have been approved for the program, although not all have traveled. “The pending ones are being reviewed three times, and no more applications are being accepted,” an expert source on immigration issues explained to CONFIDENCIAL.
The parole was launched in April 2022 as a way to regulate illegal immigration. Initially, it covered only citizens from Ukraine fleeing the large-scale invasion launched by Russia in February of that year. In October 2022, it was expanded to include Venezuela, and in January 2023, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua were added.
The initiative limits the number of citizens from the four Latin American and Caribbean nations to whom authorization is offered to travel and enter th
