Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday that it would cancel legal reservations for more than five million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which would lead to a possible deportation phase in about a month.
According to a report by the Associated Press, this new order affects those arriving in the United States under the Humanitarian Parole Program from October 2022, in which two -year permits allow them to live and work in the country.
When individuals will lose their legal status
DHS Secretary Christie Nim said that the victims will lose their legal status on April 24, 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.
The move affects about 5,32,000 people in the four countries – Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela – who entered the United States with financial sponsorships and were given temporary status under the Biden Administration’s parole program.
The decision pursued a broader change in the US immigration policy, and earlier, the Donald Trump administration’s move echoes, which aims to be seen as a “abuse” of the parole program for humanitarian sympathy. According to the AP report, this legal tool has historically been used to temporarily enter and allow people from countries facing war or political instability.
Legal challenges
The Biden administration initially allowed 30,000 people from these four countries to legally enter for two years, which had the ability to work. However, the DHS now states that people who should be “discharged” before the expiry of their parole status in the United States without legal grounds.
Although the beneficiaries may remain until their parole is over, applications for asylum and immigration benefits have been stopped under the current administration.
This policy has already faced legal challenges. A group of American citizens and immigrants filed a lawsuit to restore the program, and discussing the decision that the debate on the decision was unfair and harmful to families and communities. The founder and director of the Justice Action Center, who is part of the litigation, called the move a “careless, cruel and contradictory productive”.
The new policy has major implications, especially for countries such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who are resistant to accepting exile flights from the United States. Meanwhile, Haiti is on the riot, complicating exile efforts, though the country has generally accepted many flights.
From the end of 2022, under the program, more than half a million people have entered the United States, designed to provide a legal way for migration, while also crossing the border illegally.
