Trump Announces End to Two Family Reunification Parole Programs

The Trump administration recently announced a plan to discontinue two specific parole programs which offer protection and family reunification to Filipino veterans of WWII and victims of natural disasters in Haiti. This declaration comes just a few weeks after Trump announced a likely end to the “Parole in Place” program which protects undocumented family members of current or former US military service members.

The Filipino World War II Veterans Parole program allowed veterans of the war to bring certain family members to the US to live with, and, in many cases, care for them. The program was implemented in early 2016 and has been extremely beneficial for war veterans who need aid and assistance from their families. Most qualifying individuals are currently between 80 and 90 years old and have been separated from their children for many years.

The Haitian Family Reunification Parole program began in late 2014 and allowed Haitian family members of US citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents to come to the US sooner than they would have been able to otherwise based on visa availability.

Under these two programs, family members with approved petitions are able to enter the US on “parole” and can work and live here while their green card is processing. Before these programs were implemented, siblings and children of Haitian and Filipino nationals would need to wait years (and sometimes decades) for a visa to become available to them based on their nationality and family preference category.

According to USCIS, the cancellation of these programs will not take effect until all of the administrative details have been confirmed and finalized. Anyone who has already been granted parole based on either of these programs, or who has recently applied for either program, will still be eligible for the period granted.