25 de marzo 2025
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More than 60,000 Nicaraguans—out of approximately 93,000 who arrived in the U.S. since 2023 under humanitarian parole—haven’t taken steps to apply for asylum or other immigration relief to adjust their legal status. This leaves them in a “dangerous” and “highly vulnerable” situation for deportation once the program ends, which is scheduled for April 24, 2025.
Nicaraguans who didn’t change their status in time will lose their legal right to stay in the U.S. and the work authorization tied to it. Additionally, they could be deported, according to several immigration experts consulted by CONFIDENCIAL.
Experts recommend that individuals review their “legal situation” with an immigration attorney and explore alternatives to regularize their status or other available immigration options before April 24.
The U.S. Federal Register will officially publish the order to revoke the parole—signed by President Donald Trump—on Monday, March 24, 2025. This means that Nicaraguans will have about 30 days to “adjust their status,” or they will “have to leave voluntarily or face deportation,” emphasized Astrid Montealegre, an immigration attorney at the Nicaragua American Human Rights Alliance (NAHRA).
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a group of migrants will not be affected by the end of the humanitarian parole:
- Asylum seekers with ongoing or approved processes.
- Applicants for U or T humanitarian visas.
- Citizens with valid TPS.
- Lawful permanent residents (green card holders).
- Migrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in effect.
- Migrants with petitions for adjustment of status for labor or family reasons.
Attorney Harold Rocha, president of the Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Education Fund (NALDEF), explains that Nicaraguans still have the opportunity to initiate proceedings to change their immigration status before April 24, 2025. However, he warns that “it is unclear whether the laws will change, potentially turning this into a permanent ban.”
“It is assumed that there are people who could still start processes, whether asylum, work visas, or residency applications based on family ties. There is a wide range of possibilities, and this should be done before the expiration date of their status,” the attorney emphasized.
“This would provide some protection,” he continued, “but these are things that each person needs to analyze with a certified expert, preferably a lawyer who can assess the specific circumstances of each case.”
In 2023, 38,154 Nicaraguans arrived in the U.S. under parole, of which 9,707 reportedly applied for asylum. In 2024, about 51,112 entered under this humanitarian program, with 20,238 having sought asylum, according to data from Manuel Orozco, an expert on migration and researcher at the Inter-American Dialogue.
However, by the end of October 2024, the number was estimated to have risen to 93,070 Nicaraguans with sponsors in the U.S. who received travel authorization since the implementation of the immigration program.
According to the latest data from the U.S. government, approximately 110,000 Cubans, 210,000 Haitians, and 117,000 Venezuelans also entered the U.S. under the humanitarian parole.
The risk of returning to Nicaragua
One of the main risks faced by Nicaraguans with parole is that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has shown its refusal to allow the reentry of a long list of fellow citizens.
“There is information about people who have been banned from returning to Nicaragua, and we would need to see if any of those who left with parole are among them. In that case, the case would need to be presented before an immigration judge, and it must be explained that there is no way to return to the country of origin,” Rocha explained.
“There are doctrines that the U.S. government recognizes and allows a form of temporary protection when one cannot return to their country of origin, but these are not administrative matters, they are judicial,” he emphasized.
The humanitarian parole was only a temporary permit and did not grant permanent legal residency or provide a path to citizenship. The U.S. government—under President Joe Biden—expected that once the humanitarian purpose was fulfilled, the individual would need to leave the United States.
“It is assumed that, once that status expires and no other status has been obtained, and the person does not leave the country, they would clearly be exposed to detention, expulsion, or deportation, and that carries quite severe consequences. Generally, there is a period of time during which the person cannot apply for a visa or enter the United States,” Rocha stated.
Asylum, a way out?
Montealegre pointed out that those who applied for asylum “should not be deported” without a resolution on their case. “If this law and jurisprudence are applied, individuals requesting asylum would be protected from deportation; however, we don’t know what executive orders will come in the future and how those orders might change the legal landscape.”
Rocha agreed that Nicaraguans who applied for asylum protection should not be sent back to their country of origin because “it is assumed that the application is in process,” which grants them a “stay and work permit.”
“Since everything is changing so much, it’s unclear if immigration officers have been given powers to, for example, cancel someone’s status before asylum is granted… Once asylum has been granted, there are always opportunities to reopen the case in certain circumstances, but the odds are quite low,” Rocha warned.
Pending issues to resolve
In early March 2025, a group of migrants, including Nicaraguans, with support from the Haitian Bridge Alliance, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for closing key programs, including humanitarian parole.
During his presidential campaign, Trump promised the largest deportation of migrants in history.
“In the past, these measures would have to be adopted by Congress, but the president is using executive orders, and it’s possible that these could be challenged in court, but that will take time, and in the meantime, deportations could occur,” Rocha emphasized.
Any decision a judge might make could temporarily or indefinitely suspend the Republican president’s measure against parole beneficiaries, Rocha pointed out.
The United States is the main destination for Nicaraguan migration. Between 2018 and 2024, it is estimated that at least 495,881 Nicaraguans arrived in the U.S.—about 81,223 of them in 2024—of which 80,000 would be under a deportation order, and 5,000 could be at risk of not obtaining asylum and “receiving notification to leave the country” in 2025, according to data analyzed by Manuel Orozco.
This article was originally published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
