The Department of Homeland Security started handing out termination notices to thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela this week after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a decision that allows the Trump administration to end a Biden-era humanitarian parole program.
Notices reviewed by CNN warned the migrants that if they do not leave voluntarily, they could face enforcement measures including detention and removal, “without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner.”
The humanitarian parole program, introduced by the Biden administration, granted eligible migrants permission to enter the United States on a two-year stay. Approximately 530,000 citizens from the four countries were allowed in under the program.
The Trump administration has criticized the program, claiming that it allowed “poorly vetted” migrants into the country. But the program does require applicants to pass background checks and secure a financial sponsor to ensure they would not become a public burden.
Last month, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request by the administration to halt the program, paving the way for DHS to begin rescinding protections for those living in the US under the program’s terms.
In a statement released Wednesday, DHS confirmed it would be revoking the work authorizations of those enrolled in the program.
“The Biden Administration lied to America,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs 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.”
The Biden administration had promoted the program as a strategy to relieve pressure on the southern border, offering a legal and controlled pathway for migration from nations frequently represented in asylum claims.
With the program now dismantled, immigrant advocacy groups and legal experts are bracing for a wave of legal challenges and humanitarian concerns surrounding those now facing removal.
It comes as tensions around immigration are at an all-time high.
In Los Angeles, protests broke out last weekend against ICE operations in the city and Trump responded by deploying the military.
Elsewhere, other anti-ICE demonstrations ignited across the country, with more planned for Saturday.
