Tens of thousands of immigrants from a handful of countries have been stripped of deportation protection under a new Trump administration order.
Under the new rule, posted to the Federal Register Tuesday, nationals from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela who were given temporary protection and work permits under a Biden-era parole program will have that status revoked. More than 500,000 recipients have been given 30 days to leave the country themselves or face deportation.
The Biden administration said the program would help cut down on the number of migrants at the border by allowing people to fly to the U.S. with the help of a sponsor and stay for two years. Nationals who didn’t use the program and instead arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border were swiftly removed back to Mexico.
The new order says the program does not align with new foreign policy goals and argues it doesn’t serve a public benefit. A lawsuit filed by Republican-led states also aimed to end the program under Biden but failed when the judge determined they could not prove it was a drain on their state resources.
Another lawsuit, filed this month by rights groups in response to the federal government’s move to eliminate the programs, argues humanitarian parole has been used for decades and is legal.
