By Charlotte and Tim Sullivan, FSPA affiliates
In December of 2022, people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were arriving at the United States border, requesting asylum at higher rates than almost any other country. To reduce these numbers and provide some humanitarian relief for the people from these four countries, the U.S. administration of that time created the Humanitarian Parole Process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, a program allowing eligible individuals from those countries to enter the U.S. temporarily, for up to two years, with advance permission. If a person had a U.S. sponsor, they could legally enter the country and work for two years. These individuals could receive a Social Security card and driver's license while working and living here legally, but leave after two years. There was no path in this program for citizenship or any options to continue to live in the U.S. for an extended period. The CHNV parole process worked — the number of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela approaching the U.S. border dropped dramatically; in some cases, by over 90%.
The program also worked in the sense that some American communities, including Shelby County, Iowa, benefited greatly from the employment of these U.S.-sponsored individuals. There was an extensive application process whereby both the beneficiary and the sponsor (who is held accountable for the beneficiary) reported personal information, including financial data. In addition, the beneficiaries were submitted to background checks that included fingerprinting and health screening.
Why does this matter to anyone in Shelby County? For over 12 years, the Shelby County Catholic Churches have had a sister parish in Nicaragua. They have been working there to install solar panels and water filters in very rural homes with no infrastructure for electricity or water. The living conditions in Nicaragua have worsened over the last five years. The pandemic was especially damaging to the countries of Central America. In addition, the Nicaraguan president has managed to amend the constitution to appoint himself president for life. His government has become extremely oppressive, jailing any political opposition, including three Catholic bishops and over 20 priests. If you are not willing to support his party, you cannot get a decent job making a livable wage and risk government-sponsored retaliation. When this humanitarian program became available, five young Nicaraguans were sponsored and came to Shelby County. These people include two individuals who achieved college degrees (one financially facilitated by a Shelby County family) and a family of three who lived on a very rural farm in Nicaragua.
For Juan and his family, this program was a godsend. His family is a classic example of how the program was supposed to work. They own approximately one acre of land in Nicaragua, enough space to grow the beans and corn they need for sustenance, but not enough to improve their home, pay medical bills or send their daughter to college. Six days a week, Juan rode his horse an hour one way to another landowner’s property where he cut woody plants with a machete, earning a mere $7.00 daily pay. His family jumped at the chance to come to Shelby County. They had no interest in staying permanently in the U.S. but hoped they could earn enough money to buy some land and milk cows in Nicaragua. Juan had been a dairy farmer his whole life and knew that if he could get the land and cows, he could support his family. That dream seemed within reach as he, his wife and daughter had good jobs in Shelby County and were saving money. Up until now, that is.
"This experience has us wondering what values the people of the U.S. want our government to uphold. What do you want for our country?
Frequently, our friends and families say that these people and their sponsors did everything legally; therefore, the government will never send them back to the crisis of humanity they fled from. Sadly, that is not the case. We believe this is all about politics, not what is best for the U.S. The administration has promised mass deportations, and the folks in this program, those who have followed all the rules and came to the U.S. legally, are the easiest ones to target first. Of course, we are biased, but these actions by our government fill us with sadness and dismay.
On June 13, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services notified the Nicaraguans that the program and their work permissions were terminated, and they must leave the country immediately. The very next day, we purchased airfare for Juan and his family to Nicaragua. We knew we would be buying these tickets at some point, but we had hoped it would be their scheduled return in June of 2026. A USCIS press release that announced these terminations included the following line: “Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies.” Though we recognize the politics involved in such a statement, we don’t feel that we or those who came to Shelby County from Nicaragua exploited CHNV. The U.S. government invited us to sponsor Juan and his family, effectively inviting them to Iowa to work for 24 months. As these people proved to be responsible and provided much-needed labor that benefits the American economy, a common-sense policy would have been to allow them to complete their two years here.
We have become close friends with the Nicaraguans we sponsored, and they have had a deep impact on our lives. You may not know any of them personally, but if you ate any Doran Sweet Corn last year, there is a good chance that Juan or one of his family members picked those ears. If you bought any plants from the My Nest Greenhouse in Harlan, Iowa, this year, Juan and his family helped the business prepare for this year’s growing season. If you have children in the Harlan Community Schools, they might have met Fabian, who we have heard is a kind and patient teacher. And if you noticed Anyeli at Monogram Prepared Meats, know that she received a promotion for her high level of intelligence and strong work ethic after only a few days of employment with the company. Her supervisor cried as she walked out on her last day. We think all who had contact with them would say they are kind, friendly and hard-working folk. We will miss them.
This experience has left us wondering about the values the people of the U.S. want to be upheld by our government. What kind of values do you want for our country?
Maybe it is not surprising that Juan, Fabian and Anyeli took this change of events much better than we did. Juan responded, “Many people have helped us here; God has been with them and worked through them. That is the way God works; He puts us together to help each other. God does everything!”
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