Humanitarian Parole | Realtimepolicy

How are TPS & Parole different from Asylum?

TPS & Parole Under Trump 2.0

Humanitarian Parole & Temporary Protective Status Under Trump 2025

Short (1.5 ish sentence) summary of article

A rally protesting Trump's Muslim travel ban back in 2017.

Alba Vigaray/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

Last updated February 25, 2025 xx:xx pm (EST)

What is Humanitarian Parole?

Humanitarian parole offers individuals the opportunity to settle in the United States on a “temporary basis due to an urgent humanitarian need.” Several conditions may qualify someone for humanitarian parole, including political turmoil, armed conflicts, and critical medical situations. Usually, Humanitarian Parole status allows someone to remain in the United States for one or two years, after which an individual may be eligible to apply for another form of immigration status, such as asylum or SIV status, or be required to leave the United States or be required to leave the United States.

How is Humanitarian Parole Designated?

Humanitarian parole offers a short-term solution to a pressing humanitarian situation. Utilizing humanitarian parole allows the U.S. government to effectively circumvent the typical immigration process, allowing individuals to temporarily remain in the United States due to a drastic condition. Three agencies have the discretionary authority to grant parole: Customs and Border Patrol, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Afghan refugees in Dulles Airport en route to a processing center in 2021.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

What is Temporary Protective Status?

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary status granted by the U.S. government to eligible nationals of certain countries experiencing unsafe conditions, such as armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. In other words, TPS protects recipients from deportation while the status is in effect. Additionally, TPS provides the authorization to work legally in the U.S. (Employment Authorization Document - EAD) and permission to apply for travel authorization. It is a temporary status, meaning that its extension depends on the United States government. Despite common misconceptions, it should be noted that TPS does not make individuals eligible for government benefits.

Eligibility criteria for TPS include:

Be a national of a designated TPS country (or a person without a nationality who last resided in a designated TPS country)
Be physically present in the U.S. since the designated date for their country
Have continuously resided in the U.S. since the required date.
Apply within the registration period and meet other specific eligibility requirements.

How is Temporary Protective Status Designated?

How is TPS designated?

TPS is designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), based on unsafe or unstable conditions in a country. Common justifications for TPS include natural disasters, war, human rights crises, or political instability.

What is the difference between Humanitarian Parole and Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?

While TPS is a country-specific designation, Humanitarian Parole is allocated on a case-by-case basis rather than nationality. However, in recent years Humanitarian Parole has been used to aid large numbers of individuals experiencing violence and unsafe conditions who would not qualify for other visas to enter the United States. For instance, the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) parole program allows nationals from these countries to submit an application for temporary entry into the United States for up to two years. To participate in the CHNV program, individuals are required to secure a U.S.-based sponsor, meet robust security clearance requirements, and meet individual eligibility requirements (ie. clean criminal record, permanent residence in participating nation).

Who Benefits from TPS and Parole?

As of January 2025, 330,000 people in the United States from 16 different countries held Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Countries that have historically benefited from TPS include: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Countries who qualify for TPS are eligible if they experience a risk of violence, natural disaster, or life-threatening conditions. TPS allows people to pursue lives with greater safety and opportunities while allowing them the opportunity to become key parts of their communities. People living in the United States with TPS have contributed as vital members of the US economy while building families, careers, and livelihoods for decades. For example, most TPS holders from El Salvador and Honduras have lived in the United States for 20 years.

The Cuban, Humanitarian, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) program, the Venezuelan TPS, the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, and the Afghan parole program are among the most recent programs established. These programs have provided a vital pathway to safety for thousands of individuals and families who face the risks of war, political instability, natural disasters, food insecurity, and gang violence—especially for those brave individuals who risked their lives to assist the United States in battle around the world.

How are TPS & Parole different from Asylum?

Asylum also offers legal protection, but asylum designations are based on an individual’s situation and are not broadly applied to anyone from a particular country. Qualifications for asylum are credible threats based on race, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation, nationality, or membership in a social group. Asylum offers immediate employment authorization (Employment Authorization Document), a one-year path to a green card (legal permanent residence), and a five-year path to US citizenship if desired. Asylum seekers only have to apply for this status once, making it a more reliable and permanent status. TPS beneficiaries have to reapply for their legal status every 12-24 months and parolees’ length of stay—while discretionary— usually does not extend past a year.

Similar to the country-by-country determination for TPS, parolees are not guaranteed a specific amount of time to remain in the United States. Parolees are not eligible to pursue a green card or citizenship unless they apply for and are granted asylum. Parole “stops the clock” on the ability to seek asylum. Typically the ability to seek asylum starts with entry into the country and declaration of intent to claim asylum. Individuals only have a year to do this from the initial entry date into the US. Under parole, an individual extends the time frame they are eligible to file for asylum.

TPS & Parole under the Trump Administration

The Trump administration has announced the end of the 2023 TPS designation for over 350,000 Venezuelan TPS holders, stating that their status will end officially on April 7, 2025. The people that Trump is ordering back to Venezuela will continue to face a harsh reality of violence, political instability, and corruption there. Donald Trump won Miami-Dade County in the 2024 election, supported by many naturalized Venezuelan community members. With a population of 174,000 Venezuelans, Miami has one of the highest concentrations of Venezuelan immigrants in the country. Many naturalized Venezuelans who have shown support for the Trump administration feel betrayed, as the recent executive orders impact their direct family members, friends, and the broader community.

The most recent executive orders by the Trump Administration have also stopped the CHNV humanitarian parole program. According to the Department of Human Security (DHS), 531,690 people have been awarded humanitarian parole since 2023—most of whom are from Haiti. Opportunities to apply for the CHNV program have been halted; however, the administration has yet to announce the fate of individuals who have already been granted parole status under the program.