Immigration parole: What is it and who’s getting it?

In relation to immigration, parole is a permission of entry that allows certain noncitizens to stay in the United States temporarily.

The Department of Homeland Security this month announced that a parole process for Venezuelans will now be extended to vetted nationals of Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua – and their immediate family members. Up to 30,000 individuals from those countries, per month, may come to stay and work for up to two years, but must secure a sponsor for financial support and arrive by airplane.

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that parole may be granted on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

An example of “public benefit” could mean granting someone entry to testify in a trial. The Uniting for Ukraine program, by contrast, has provided a “humanitarian” parole process for Ukrainians since spring 2022.  

Suchi Mathur, an attorney at the American Immigration Council, sees parole as a “useful mechanism for getting people to safety,” even if it doesn’t provide a path to permanence.

Simon Hankinson from the Heritage Foundation disagrees with the expansion of parole. “We can’t solve the social problems – and the economic problems, the political problems – of every country on Earth,” he says.

Ukrainians fleeing war, Afghans airlifted out of Kabul, Venezuelans escaping political crisis – many recent arrivals to the United States have legally entered through a process called parole.

Parole isn’t technically an immigration status. It’s a temporary state for noncitizens without the promise of long-term residence.

The Department of Homeland Security this month announced that a parole process for Venezuelans will now be extended to vetted nationals of Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua – and their immediate family members. Up to 30,000 individuals from those countries, per month, may come to stay and work for up to two years, but must secure a sponsor for financial support and arrive by airplane.

What is parole?

Parole is a permission of entry that allows certain noncitizens to stay in the U.S. temporarily. Parole can be granted in numerous ways, including at ports of entry like those along the southern border or through a major parole program like the federal Uniting for Ukraine initiative.

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that parole may be granted on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”