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Many thousands of Nicaraguans, Cubans, Haitians, and Venezuelans with parole must “leave now” to avoid deportation and future problems reentering the US, immigration experts have warned.
As of Thursday, June 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent a notice to citizens with humanitarian parole informing them that their permission to live and work in the United States has been “revoked”.
In one section, the notice warns the migrant that he or she must “leave the United States NOW if you have not obtained a legal basis to remain in the country,” according to a copy of the notice shared with CONFIDENCIAL.
The humanitarian parole, created in 2022 by Joe Biden’s administration (2021 – 2025), granted work permits and legal stay to some 532,000 Nicaraguans, Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians.
Experts point out that the immediate departure order affects only Nicaraguans with parole who did not apply for asylum or other immigration relief to adjust their legal status in the United States.
According to Homeland Security data, some 93,000 Nicaraguans, 110,000 Cubans, 210,000 Haitians and 117,000 Venezuelans accessed the U.S. under humanitarian parole.
In the case of Nicaraguans, as of the end of March 2025, only about 33,000 citizens had applied for immigration relief. However, experts believe that this number increased after Donald Trump’s administration announced that it would end the humanitarian parole.
Nicaraguans with Parole Are Now “Undocumented”
Carolina Sediles, a volunteer with the Nicaraguan American Human Rights Alliance (Nahra), said that for Nicaraguans without other immigration relief, it is best to “leave the United States now.”
She explained that under US law, “unlawful presence” begins to accumulate when a foreign national remains more than 180 days past their authorized stay. “That doesn’t mean immigration authorities look kindly on those who overstay, so the sooner they leave, the better,” she added.
The Homeland Security notification reiterates that “your entry permit has been canceled,” and therefore you are “subject to expedited removal.”
Harold Rocha, president of the Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Education Fund, stated that some attorneys concluded that after receiving the Homeland Security notice, Nicaraguans with parole are now considered ‘undocumented migrants.’
“The danger is that if they come into contact with Immigration, they will be detained and put in deportation proceedings,” warned Rocha, who suggested to Nicaraguans that “if they have grounds to request asylum, it would be advisable to seek qualified advice and consult with them.”
Other Nicaraguans Still at Risk of Detention
Sediles warned that Nicaraguans who have applied for asylum or have petitions for certain immigration benefits “are somehow protected from deportation”, although “not necessarily from detention”.
She emphasized that humanitarian immigration benefits such as asylum or U and T visas or VAWA allow migrants to remain in the US during their proceedings but do not grant legal immigration status.
She also noted that individuals with pending family petitions—which can take numerous years—must request a waiver if they overstay more than 180 days. These waivers are only available to immediate relatives of US citizens or citizen military personnel.
Rocha added that “it remains to be seen whether immigration agents will respect that an asylum application is in process,” noting that in some cases people are still detained, and their asylum claims must then be presented defensively before an immigration judge.
Government Offers Plane Tickets and the “CBP Home” App
In the notification to migrants, the U.S. Government offers the possibility of buying them a return plane ticket and giving them $1,000 “as an exit bonus” if the migrants “voluntarily” leave the country through the CBP Home mobile application process.
This application was launched by DHS in March 2025 to allow undocumented migrants to “self-deport,” with the promise of allowing them to return through legal channels in the future.
Sediles said that “at this point we have seen that this Administration cannot be trusted”, so she recommended that Nicaraguans with parole buy their ticket, return to Nicaragua and “keep their proof of departure”.
She reminded readers that self-deportation still has negative consequences, since voluntary departure is meant for people who entered illegally or overstayed their permitted time.
“It’s like accepting you were undocumented,” she stressed.
CBP Home replaced the CBP One app, which was used during the Biden administration to allow migrants to schedule appointments to present their cases to US authorities at ports of entry.
