U.S. Government Terminates Legal Status for Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
The United States announced on Friday that it will be terminating the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them a few weeks to exit the country. This decision comes as President Donald Trump is determined to launch what he describes as the largest deportation initiative in U.S. history, with a focus on curbing immigration primarily from Latin American countries.
The deportation order impacts approximately 532,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who were granted entry under a program initiated by former President Joe Biden in October 2022 and expanded in January 2023. The affected individuals will lose their legal protections 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement is published in the Federal Register, which is set for Tuesday.
As a result, migrants involved in the program will be required to leave the United States by April 24, unless they can obtain an alternative immigration status that would allow them to stay, according to the order. Welcome.US, an organization that provides support to those seeking refuge in the U.S., has urged those impacted by this new directive to seek legal counsel as soon as possible.
The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program, unveiled in January 2023, was designed to allow up to 30,000 migrants from these four nations to enter the U.S. each month for a period of two years, in light of dire human rights conditions in their home countries.
While President Biden previously highlighted the initiative as a “safe and humane” solution to alleviate pressures at the crowded U.S.-Mexico border, the Department of Homeland Security emphasized on Friday that the nature of the program is temporary. “Parole is inherently temporary, and it does not provide a pathway to permanent immigration status nor does it equate to an admission into the United States,” they stated in the order.
Further stirring controversy, Trump recently utilized a rarely invoked wartime legislation to arrange the deportation of over 200 individuals reportedly affiliated with a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which has proposed housing migrants — and even U.S. citizens — in their prisons at a discounted rate.
This latest development marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over immigration policy in the United States amidst rising tension over border security and humanitarian considerations.
Join our Channel...