Trump to Strip Legal Status From 532,000 Migrants Living in US

The Trump administration will revoke temporary legal status from potentially more than half a million migrants who entered the US legally under a Biden-era program, according to a notice posted Friday in the Federal Register.

The 35-page notice, set to be formally published March 25, outlines the administration’s plan to end humanitarian parole and accompanying work permits for nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela who were allowed to fly directly to the US after applying from abroad. CBS News first reported the change.

Roughly 532,000 people entered the US under the policy, but it’s unclear how many still hold that legal status, the Department of Homeland Security said. Those without another lawful way to remain will be required to leave or face deportation starting in late April.

The administration has already declined to extend Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians, a separate designation, which affects hundreds of thousands of people already in the country. The first group is set to lose their permission to live and work in the US as early as April.

Read More: Cheap US Beef at Risk as Trump Seeks to Deport Haitian Workers

Eliminating the parole program, known as CNHV, marks a significant escalation of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, expanding enforcement to include many migrants who entered the US legally and have no criminal record.

The CNHV program was launched by President Joe Biden in 2023 to offer a legal alternative to dangerous border crossings, particularly through the treacherous Darien Gap. Trump has long criticized such programs as illegal and tantamount to open-border policies.

Migrants disembark from boats after crossing the Darien Gap in Puerto Limon, Panama, in 2021.

Photographer: Nicolo Filippo Rosso/Bloomberg

As a candidate, Trump vowed to end illegal immigration at the southwest border and carry out the largest deportation in US history.

Since he took office, federal agents have made more than 30,000 arrests of people living in the country illegally, often in coordination with Justice Department agencies. While officials say enforcement targets serious offenders, some arrests have involved people whose only violation is lacking legal immigration status. The administration has not disclosed how many have been deported.

Read More: Trump Aides Shutter Homeland Security Civil Rights Office

On Friday, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is dismantling internal watchdogs for the Department of Homeland Security, including its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which examines abuse and discrimination within immigration enforcement. Civil rights advocates and lawmakers say the move eliminates key oversight as the administration ramps up detentions and prepares for mass deportations.

Also on Friday, DHS posted a notice extending a January determination that there is an ongoing or imminent influx of migrants at the southern border, even as arrests in February fell to 8,300 — a monthly low not seen in decades.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Alicia A. Caldwell in Los Angeles at acaldwell54@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sarah McGregor at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net

Shamim Adam

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