Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States under a program called humanitarian parole are at risk of being sent back to their home countries by the Trump administration.
News4 spoke with a man named Wuilman Vanegas who is one of those impacted.
“I cannot deny, you know, it’s been difficult,” Vanegas said. “It’s been like, stressful.”
Vanegas and his family moved to the U.S. 10 months ago on humanitarian parole, a Biden-era program that gives individuals temporary legal status for urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit.
Vanegas, who taught high schoolers in Nicaragua for 15 years, now works three part time jobs. He teaches Spanish at two grade schools, including one in Prince George’s County, and at Howard University.
Last month, he received notice his parole was being revoked and he and his family needed to leave by April 25.
“How can I get a solution about this situation in a short period of time?” Vanegas said. “That is something that I, that we have been thinking about and it’s been something that is difficult, you know.”
Whether the Vanegas family has to leave the U.S. is in limbo. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Boston blocked the Trump administration’s push to end humanitarian parole.
“Based on the information that we know, it seems that we will have more time,” Vanegas said.
The Vanegas family’s parole was supposed to last two years, but they’ve grown attached to their community.
Now, Vanegas is trying to secure full time employment so he can apply for a visa.
He’s received a lot of support from his employers, neighbors and friends. He started a fundraiser to help cover expenses while the family tries to work out their puzzle. It’s almost at its goal.
“I think that teaching is one of the most wonderful professions, you know, where you can help children, and you can help the community,” he said. “I’m just asking to get an opportunity, you know, to continue doing what I have been doing my whole life.”
