MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has halted the processing of certain parole program applications, affecting thousands of immigrants already in the country.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the pause on Thursday, stating, “This is pending the completion of additional vetting to identify any fraud, public safety, or national security concerns.”
The decision impacts programs such as Uniting for Ukraine, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans parole, and the Family Reunification Parole.
Max Stifler, a Ukrainian exile who arrived in the U.S. under humanitarian parole, expressed uncertainty about his future.
Stifler, a barber in downtown Miami, left his home in Kyiv a year into the war.
Before coming to the U.S., he ran a barbershop in Ukraine, but the Russian invasion upended his life and forced him to flee. Most of his family has relocated to Europe, and he has built a new life in South Florida, cutting hair and dreaming of reopening his own business.
“It is pretty hard for everyone living in Ukraine. Every day, I saw the rockets that blow up in my country. You see burned-out buildings. I am really scared for a lot of my people who die every day,” he said. “It was not my decision; I had to come because of the war. I had a sponsor from the United States, a customer in my business in Ukraine. He helped me, and right now, I have temporary protected status also, so how it will continue, I don’t know.”
Asked whether he fears returning to Ukraine, Stifler admitted, “Yeah, actually, yeah, I am concerned about it.”
Beyond his personal fears, he worries about his country’s future. “I miss my people,” he said. “It is the most important thing for me, more than business or money.”
The pause also comes as Haiti faces the expiration of its TPS.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem vacated a decision by the previous administration to extend Haiti’s TPS by 18 months, meaning the status will now expire on Aug. 3, unless extended.
The move is part of former President Donald Trump’s broader promise to rescind policies that he has called “magnets for illegal immigration.”
TPS allows nationals from designated countries to remain in the U.S. temporarily if their home countries are experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
With Haiti facing gang violence, political instability, and economic collapse, immigration advocates fear that tens of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. will be at risk of deportation once their TPS protections expire.
Immigration attorney Maureen Porras said the administrative hold on parole applications creates major hurdles for those seeking to adjust their legal status.
“This one halts any process for those who already applied and are in the U.S. legally with that parole. It stops their processing for any applications they have applied for since coming into the U.S. to legalize their status,” Porras said. “And that is the concern — those folks are here, they entered through the humanitarian parole process, they found an option to adjust their status to some sort of legal status, and that is being interrupted because of this new decision.”
Porras emphasized that thousands of South Florida residents, particularly Ukrainians, Haitians, and Cubans, are impacted.
“It is thousands, thousands of people,” she said.
For Stifler, the uncertainty is overwhelming. While he is grateful for the opportunity to live in the U.S., he had hoped for a more secure path forward.
“I came here for freedom, to live the American Dream,” he said. “I just want to know what happens next.”
Local lawmakers are calling for clarity on how the pause will impact their constituents.
“I don’t know the actual impact of this new rule, really there is a lot of questions that I have about it,” said U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R). “Obviously, I am concerned about it, but I am not going to make a comment on it until I find out the exact effects of this new rule on the people that I represent.”
U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R) called on the Department of Homeland Security to protect certain groups affected by the change.
“I’m urging Homeland Security to PROTECT Cubans awaiting legal status adjustment through the Cuban Adjustment Act,” she wrote in a statement to Local 10 News. “We must ALSO protect the Venezuelans and Nicaraguans without a criminal record going through the asylum process.”
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Darren Soto, Salazar, and Frederica Wilson, have reintroduced the Venezuelan Adjustment Act. If passed, the legislation would allow eligible Venezuelan nationals who entered the U.S. on or before Dec. 31, 2021, to apply for lawful permanent residency.
Wasserman Schultz said the bill is needed to provide stability for Venezuelan families who fled Nicolás Maduro’s regime, especially as the Trump administration tightens legal immigration pathways.
“The Venezuelan Adjustment Act will give security and peace of mind to tens of thousands of Venezuelans who have fled a murderous, totalitarian regime,” Wasserman Schultz said. “As Trump closes off legal pathways for migrants, we need this legislation to re-open the door for those who should have the opportunity to become permanent legal residents as Cubans have been able to for years. This bill would strengthen South Florida’s economy, keep families together, and stave off cruel threats of deportation back to the Maduro regime’s repression.”
Read more about the bill in the document below.
