In a sweeping move, the United States announced on Friday that it is revoking the legal status of more than 500,000 immigrants, leaving them with just weeks to either secure alternative documentation or leave the country. The decision aligns with President Donald Trump’s vow to launch the most extensive deportation campaign in US history, primarily targeting migrants from Latin America.
The order impacts approximately 532,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who had been granted temporary entry under a humanitarian parole program initiated by former President Joe Biden in October 2022 and expanded in early 2023.
Under the directive from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), these immigrants will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register, which is scheduled for Tuesday. This sets the deadline for their departure at April 24, unless they can obtain a valid immigration status allowing them to remain in the country.
Advocacy group Welcome.US urged affected individuals to seek immediate legal counsel to explore any remaining options.
The CHNV program, which permitted up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four nations to legally enter the US for two years, was originally promoted by the Biden administration as a structured, humane alternative to illegal border crossings. However, the DHS emphasized that the program was always meant to be temporary. “Parole is inherently temporary, and it does not provide a pathway to permanent immigration status,” the agency stated in its order.
Trump’s administration has intensified efforts to curb migration, invoking rarely used wartime measures last week to deport more than 200 suspected members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador. The Central American nation has controversially offered to house and imprison deported migrants—including US citizens—at a reduced cost.
With the deadline fast approaching, hundreds of thousands of immigrants now face an uncertain future, forced to either navigate complex legal channels or prepare for an abrupt departure from the country they have called home.