Trump administration tells immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela they have to leave

MIAMI (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it has begun notifying hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that their temporary permission to live and work in the United States has been revoked and that they should leave the country.

The termination notices are being sent by email to people who entered the country under the humanitarian parole program for the four countries, officials said.

Since October 2022, about 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were allowed to enter the U.S. under the program created by the Biden administration. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S.

DHS said that the letters informed people that both their temporary legal status and their work permit was revoked “effective immediately.” It encouraged any person living illegally in the U.S. to leave using a mobile application called CBP Home and said that individuals will receive travel assistance and $1,000 upon arrival at their home country.

The department did not provide details on how the U.S. government will find or contact the people once they leave or how they will receive the money.

Trump promised during his presidential campaign to end what he called the “broad abuse” of humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where there’s war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S.

Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways created for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay and work.

His decision to end the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans was challenged at the courts, but the Supreme Court last month permitted the Trump administration to revoke those temporary legal protections.

Immigration advocates expressed concern over the Trump administration decision to send the notices to more than a half million individuals.

It “is a deeply destabilizing decision,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refugee, a nonprofit organization that supports refugees and migrants entering the U.S. “These are people that played by the rules… they passed security screenings, paid for their own travel, obtained work authorization, and began rebuilding their lives.”

Zamora, a 34-year-old Cuban mother who arrived under the sponsorship of an American citizen in September 2023, said she fears deportation. However, for now, she has no plans to leave the country.

“I am afraid of being detained while my son is at school,” said Zamora, who asked to be identified only by her last name out of fear of being deported. “I’m afraid to return to Cuba, the situation is very difficult there.”

Zamora said she has sought other ways to remain in the U.S. legally through the Cuban Adjustment Act, a law that allows Cubans who have arrived legally to the U.S. and meet certain requirements to apply to get a green card.

Although her process has not been approved yet, she is hopeful it may allow her to remain legally in the U.S. In the meantime, she said that she will stop working at a clinic if needed.

“I’m going to wait quietly without getting into trouble,” the Cuban said.