The Trump administration will revoke the legal status of hundreds of thousands of Latin American and Haitian migrants who were welcomed into the United States via a Biden-era sponsorship program, asking them to self-deport or risk arrest and removal by deportation officers.
The expiration of their work permits and deportation safeguards under an immigration authority known as parole will take effect in late April, 30 days after March 25, according to a federal government notification.
The action would impact Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan immigrants who traveled to the United States as part of a Biden administration initiative known as CHNV, which was aimed to minimize illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border by providing legal migration options.
A total of 532,000 migrants entered the United States under that arrangement, which was halted shortly after President Trump took office, but it is unknown how many were able to get another status that would enable them to remain lawfully in the nation.
CBS News initially reported in early February that the Trump administration intended to cancel the legal status of persons who entered the United States via the CHNV procedure.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that if people affected by the policy change do not leave the United States over the next 30 days, they will be arrested and deported. Officials are encouraging migrants to utilize the newly repurposed CBP Home smartphone app to register for self-deportation.
However, DHS said that it maintains the right to pursue migrants who entered via this program before the 30-day term expires. According to officials, individuals targeted for arrest will be migrants who have failed to qualify for another immigration advantage, such as asylum or a green card.
In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed the migrants permitted into the United States under the CHNV procedure were “loosely vetted,” and that the scheme disadvantaged American labor.
“The termination of the CHNV parole programs, and the termination of parole for those who exploited it, is a return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” according to McLaughlin.