Evaluating the Use of Humanitarian Parole as a Border Management Strategy in the United States

Abstract

The number of arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border increased dramatically from 2021-2024. To accommodate this increased flow, the Biden administration introduced a new program that allowed migrants from ‘non-deportable’ countries - Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) - the opportunity to apply for parole while still in their home countries and arrive for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) appointments at a given port of entry, alleviating the numbers of unsolicited arrivals along the border. In this article, we analyze CBP data to assess the program's effectiveness in reducing irregular migration along the southern U.S. border. Our results show that the CHNV parole program demonstrated varying levels of success in reducing border encounters, with pronounced, long-term effects for Cuban and Nicaraguan nationals and only temporary for Venezuelan and Haitian individuals. We explore the potential causes for these different outcomes and recommend program adjustments to facilitate the growing number of individuals pursuing lawful entry into the United States.