The Trump administration on Thursday began notifying roughly 530,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants that their legal status has been revoked and they should self-deport immediately.
The termination notices went out via email to migrants enrolled in a controversial Biden-era “humanitarian parole” program, which granted foreign nationals from the four countries US work permits and deportation protection for up to two years.
“The Biden Administration lied to America,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed.”
“Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” McLaughlin added.
The Biden administration launched the parole program in October 2022, letting in up to 30,000 migrants per month from Latin American countries, starting with Venezuelans.
In January 2023, Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans were added to the program.
The program, an attempt by the Biden administration to drive down illegal immigration during record surges at the border, was plagued by rampant fraud.
It was temporarily paused last July after an internal review found that thousands of sponsors for the migrants were listing fake social security numbers or phone numbers and using the same physical address for thousands of parole applications.
“Some 100 addresses were listed on over 19,000 forms,” a US Citizenship and Immigration Services review found, noting that “many applications were submitted by the same IP address.”
In October 2024, the Biden administration barred migrants enrolled in the program from extending their temporary legal status.
President Trump swiftly ended the program on his first day in office, stopping any new applications from being submitted.
The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s cancellation of the program last month.
In its press release, DHS encouraged migrants to self-deport using the Trump administration’s CBP Home Mobile App, noting that if they choose to go that route, they’ll receive travel assistance and a $1,000 exit bonus upon arrival in their home country.
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