Donald Trump’s administration has announced all migrants who were allowed to enter the US under the administration of former US president Joe Biden will now lose their legal status as of April 24. More migrants who reached the States under the humanitarian parole programme may be stripped of their status in the future, as Trump is also considering reviewing the presence of some 240,000 Ukrainian refugees in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday it would revoke the temporary legal status of more than 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the US since October 2022 under a sponsorship process. The notice was posted to the Federal Register and signed by the homeland security chief, Kristi Noem. Under Joe Biden, the programme known as CHNV was designed to open legal migration pathways. It allowed 30,000 migrants a month from the four countries to come under financial sponsorships with two-year work permits.
Those favouring the programme said it reduced illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border, while critics argued it allowed otherwise illegal migrants a free pass to the US.
The new policy impacts individuals already in the US who arrived through the humanitarian parole program, which allows individuals from war-torn or politically unstable countries to enter and reside in the US temporarily.
The Trump administration described the legal mechanism as a “widespread misuse” of humanitarian parole.
Under the new policy, parolees must depart before their parole termination date if they have no lawful basis to stay in the US. The decision could make many vulnerable to deportation if they choose to remain in the US.
The move has been criticised by lawyers and activists, with some citizens and immigrants suing the Trump administration for ending humanitarian parole.
Karen Tumlin, founder and director of Justice Action Center, one of the organisations that filed the lawsuit, called the notice “reckless, cruel and counterproductive.”
She added it is “going to cause needless chaos and heartbreak for families and communities across the country.”
Earlier this month, Trump said that he would decide “very soon” whether to strip the parole status from some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the US during the conflict with Russia.
