Trump admin pulling legal status for more than 530K migrants

The Trump administration has announced plans to revoke the temporary legal status of over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally. This decision was published in the Federal Register on Friday, giving the migrants until April 24 to leave the country before their humanitarian parole and work permits are canceled.

These migrants were part of a program called CHNV, which allowed them and their immediate family members to fly into the U.S. if they had American sponsors. They were granted temporary immigration status known as parole for a period of two years. The program was initiated during the Biden administration to provide legal migration pathways, but was suspended by President Trump when he returned to office in January.

The Department of Homeland Security under Trump’s administration criticized the Biden administration for the program’s failure to achieve its goals. They claimed that it allowed migrants to compete for American jobs, forced civil servants to promote the program despite identifying fraud, and blamed Republicans in Congress for the resulting chaos and crime.

Despite the revocation of legal status for the majority of migrants under CHNV, some may be allowed to remain in the country on a case-by-case basis. The program had helped a significant number of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua seek refuge in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their home countries.

This decision comes after the announcement to end temporary protected status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians living in the U.S. legally. TPS is designated for migrants from countries facing dangerous conditions like armed conflict. The Trump administration also terminated TPS for Venezuelans, although this move is currently being challenged in court.

President Trump’s immigration agenda has faced legal obstacles since taking office in January, particularly in his efforts to remove both legal and illegal migrants from the country. Additionally, reports suggest that the administration is dismantling internal watchdogs within the Department of Homeland Security, including the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which investigates allegations of abuse and discrimination in immigration enforcement.