Hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are set to be deported in around a month as the Department of Homeland Security said to revoke their legal protection. The decision comes in line with Donald Trump's orders to end the 'humanitarian parole'. The order applies to about 5,32,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022.
This new policy impacts people who are already in the US and who came under the humanitarian parole programme. Humanitarian parole is a long-standing legal tool that President use to allow people from countries where there's war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the US.
Administration rejecting Visa requests
During his campaign President Donald Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the US illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the US and to stay.
Before the new order, the beneficiaries of the program could stay in the US until their parole expires, although the administration had stopped processing their applications for asylum, visas and other requests that might allow them to remain longer.
Challenge in federal courts
The administration decision has already been challenged in federal courts.
A group of American citizens and immigrants sued the Trump administration for ending humanitarian parole and seeks to reinstate the programs for the four nationalities.
The Biden administration allowed up to 30,000 people a month from the four countries to come to the United States for two years with eligibility to work. It persuaded Mexico to take back the same number from those countries because the US could deport few, if any, to their homes.
Cuba generally accepted about one deportation flight a month, while Venezuela and Nicaragua refused to take any. All three are US adversaries.
Haiti accepted many deportation flights, especially after a surge of migrants from the Caribbean country in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. But Haiti has been in constant turmoil, hampering US efforts.
Since late 2022, more than half a million people have come to the US under the policy, also known as CHNV. It was a part of the Biden administration's approach to encourage people to come through new legal channels while cracking down on those who crossed the border illegally.
(AP inputs)