Trump to revoke temporary legal status for over 500,000 migrants
The administration of the U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to revoke the temporary legal status of over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as reported by the BBC.
These migrants have been instructed to leave the country before their permits and protection from deportation expire on April 24, according to a statement from the federal government.
The decision affects approximately 532,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants who arrived in the United States under a program launched in October 2022 by former President Joe Biden and expanded in January of the following year. It remains unclear how many of these migrants have secured an alternative legal status allowing them to stay in the U.S.
According to the BBC, the U.S. president is also considering whether to revoke the temporary legal status of roughly 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the United States during the conflict with Russia.
"Parole is inherently temporary, and in itself does not provide a basis for obtaining immigrant status, nor does it constitute formal admission into the United States," stated the Department of Homeland Security.
The nonprofit Welcome.US, which assists migrants in the United States, has urged those affected by the decision to seek legal counsel.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to undertake the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and to restrict immigration, primarily from Latin America, AFP reports.
Announced in January 2023 by the previous administration of President Joe Biden, the special program for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month to enter the United States for two years due to human rights concerns in these four countries, according to Agerpres. At the time, Biden described the plan as a "safe and humane" approach to alleviating pressure on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
