Cubans Stranded in Brazil as Humanitarian Parole Program Stalls

News surrounding the Humanitarian Parole program, which allows regular migration to the United States, remains contradictory. Numerous Cubans have reported being unable to travel from Brazil due to airlines preventing them from boarding flights. "At São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, they won't let us travel with this document. Our USCIS accounts show our travel permits as active, but we're told the program is halted," Yailin Herrero told Martí Noticias.

Herrero and her husband, Dennis Cabrera, have had their travel permits approved since June 25. However, when they presented their documents to an employee of Latam Airlines, with whom they had purchased tickets, they were informed they couldn't board after the information was relayed to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). "We asked Delta and American Airlines and got the same response," Herrero noted.

Others, like the Herreros, are stuck in limbo following the suspension of the Biden administration's humanitarian parole program due to fraudulent application submissions.

Impact on Cuban Migrants

The story of Mayley González, another Cuban who attempted to leave through the same Brazilian airport with her husband, Armando Elías, highlights the emotional toll. "This is heartbreaking. We Cubans waiting in other countries have made it here with great effort and sacrifice. We are far from our families, most of whom live in the United States. Our future is at stake," she said.

González's trip with American Airlines was halted when they were denied boarding. "They take photos of our passports and permits and send them somewhere, supposedly to U.S. immigration, and then come back and tell us we can't board," she recounted. The couple lost significant time and resources, as "São Paulo airport is more than 14 hours from where we are staying. We don't know what to do anymore."

Last week, a report by Telemundo confirmed that many Cubans successfully entered the U.S. with their active travel permits at Miami International Airport. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that some travel permits had been revoked as part of their review of the program and the detection of fraud in thousands of applications; however, cases are still being processed.

U.S. authorities have stated they are working with stakeholders, including airlines and sponsors, to resolve these issues promptly and will continue to provide updates. American Airlines has said it "continues to comply with the Administration's Advance Travel Authorization Program, supporting customers entering the U.S. as part of this program."

On August 2, the U.S. government temporarily froze travel permits for beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole program after an internal report revealed significant levels of fraud, Fox News reported, citing a DHS spokesperson. The government source indicated that "as a precaution," they have suspended the issuance of advance travel authorizations for the program since mid-July while they conduct a thorough review of sponsor applications, where fraud has been focused.

Reasons for the temporary suspension were outlined in an internal report by the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.