US President Donald Trump will strip half a million migrants of legal status in a new immigration crackdown.
His administration is set to revoke temporary legal status from around 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, according to a Federal Register notice on Friday.
The decision, which takes effect on April 24, ends a two-year "parole" granted to migrants under former President Joe Biden, permitting them to enter the country by air if they had US sponsors - known as CHNV.
The migrants have been told to leave America before their permits are cancelled.
The migrants have been told to leave the country before their permits are cancelled
GETTY
The US President has been taking drastic measures to control immigration, including pushing to deport a record number of illegal migrants in the US.
He argued the Democratic legal entry parole programmes overstepped federal law, and called to terminate them in an executive order signed as he took office on January 20.
In 2022, Biden initiated a parole entry program for Venezuelans and expanded it in 2023 to include Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans as his administration faced rising illegal immigration from these countries.
Diplomatic and political tensions between the US and the four nations impacted have been strained.
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The introduction of these new legal pathways coincided with Biden's efforts to reduce illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border.
Trump’s move now could leave many at risk of deportation if they choose to remain the the US.
It is unclear how many who entered the US on parole now hold another form of legal status or protection.
In a 35-page notice scheduled for official publication in the Federal Register on Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that revoking parole status would simplify the process of placing migrants in a fast-track deportation procedure called "expedited removal."
Trump argued that the Democratic legal entry parole programmes overstepped federal law, and called to terminate them in an executive order signed as he took office on January 20
REUTERS
The department hit out at the previous administration for failing in its goals, saying Biden had "granted them [migrants] opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed".
However, the notice added that some migrants under CHNV may be permitted to stay on a “case-by-case basis”.
Last month, the DHS revealed that it would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians living in the US in August.
TPS was granted to nationals from countries experiencing unsafe conditions, such as armed conflict or environmental disasters.
