Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, IMMIGRATION NEWS—DHS terminates categorical parole under Family Reunification process, (Dec 12, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The agency acknowledges that employers who employe parolees may incur costs related to lost productivity and finding new employees.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its termination, as of December 15, 2025, of categorical parole for immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, as well as their immediate family members, under the Family Reunification Parole (FRP) process. USCIS also terminated the residual processing of legacy cases under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program (legacy CFRP) and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program (legacy HFRP). In its notice appearing in the Federal Register, USCIS provides context and guidance to the public regarding the termination of all nine FRP programs.

Termination of FRP programs. According to the notice, the temporary parole period of immigrants who have been “paroled into” the U.S. under the FRP programs and whose initial period of parole has not expired by 30 days after the date of the notice’s publication will terminate on that date. There are two circumstances under which an immigrant’s parole will not terminate: (1) the immigrant filed a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, that is postmarked or electronically filed as of the date of the notice’s publication in the Federal Register and is pending adjudication; or (2) the Secretary of Homeland Security determines otherwise on a case-by-case basis. The notice states that those without a lawful basis to remain in the U.S. following the termination of their parole must depart the country before their parole termination date.

Effectiveness of FRP programs. When USCIS established the FRP programs, it wrote that the programs would provide a significant public benefit for the U.S. by promoting family unity; furthering important foreign policy objectives; providing a lawful pathway and timely alternative to unlawful migration at the southwest land border; reduce strain on limited U.S. resources; and address the root causes of migration through economic stability and development supported by increased remittances.

Now, however, USCIS states that the FRP programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of unlawful immigration, and are not serving all their intended purposes.

New position. “USCIS has determined that the desire to reunite families before their priority dates are current does not outweigh the U.S. government’s responsibility to prevent fraud and abuse of these programs and to uphold national security and public safety for the American people,” the notice states. According to the notice, terminating the programs will allow USCIS to better achieve the total and efficient enforcement of U.S. immigration law, “in accordance with the President’s vision for American foreign policy.” Further, the agency states, FRP programs have not met their stated goal of burden-reduction, did not adequately realize the goal of discouraging unlawful migration, and fell short of addressing the underlying economic drivers of unlawful migration. These reasons, independently and cumulatively, support termination of the FRP programs, according to the notice.

Employers’ reliance interests. The agency acknowledges that employers who employe parolees may incur costs related to lost productivity and finding new employees. However, the notice states, any assessment of the reliance interests of FRP parolees must account for the parolees’ knowledge at the outset that (1) the Secretary retained the discretion to terminate the parole programs at any point of time, and to terminate any grants of parole at any time when, in her opinion, the purposes of such parole have been served; and (2) the initial period of parole would be limited to a maximum of three years. The notice states, “These clear, limiting conditions of the FRP programs served to attenuate any long-term expectations and interests amongst FRP parolees. Accordingly, USCIS has taken these limiting conditions, along with FRP parolees’ knowledge of them, into consideration when weighing their reliance interest.”

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