Trump administration urges half a million immigrants to self-deport
The Trump administration has begun issuing notices to 500,000 foreign nationals — primarily from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — instructing them to leave the United States immediately. The Biden administration admitted these individuals under a humanitarian parole program known as CHNV, which allowed them to live and work temporarily in the U.S.
What is the CHNV program?
The CHNV program, established in 2023, granted eligible individuals two-year humanitarian parole to enter and remain in the U.S., along with work authorization. Officials did not consider the program as a formal immigration status, but it provided short-term refuge to citizens fleeing political turmoil and humanitarian crises in their home countries.
President Donald Trump formally terminated the program in May. On Thursday, June 12, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began notifying recipients that it had terminated their parole and revoked their employment authorization, effective immediately.
What did the administration say?
In a strongly worded statement, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the program.
“The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them 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,” McLaughlin wrote in the statement.
What legal backing does this have?
In late May, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s authority to terminate the CHNV program, ruling that the administration may revoke humanitarian parole for the more than 500,000 recipients. That decision followed a separate ruling allowing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants, a program that had offered relief since 2021 amid Venezuela’s collapse.
What’s next for CHNV recipients?
According to CNN, the notices direct recipients to self-deport: “If you do not leave, you may be subject to enforcement actions, including but not limited to detention and removal, without an opportunity to make personal arrangements and return to your country in an orderly manner.”
Officials also instructed recipients to return their work permits to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Those who comply voluntarily will be eligible for travel assistance and a $1,000 exit bonus.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
