The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the legal status of many of the migrants who were allowed to come to the U.S. legally from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela under former President Joe Biden, according to internal government documents reviewed by CBS News.
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The proposal by the Department of Homeland Security, spelled out in an unpublished notice, would fully terminate a Biden administration program that allowed more than 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to fly to the U.S. if American sponsors agreed to help them financially.
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The Biden administration argued the policy, known as CHNV, discouraged illegal immigration by people from these four Latin American countries by offering them legal means to come to the U.S., but President Trump froze the initiative hours after being inaugurated. Trump officials have specifically argued the program was a misuse of immigration parole, the legal authority which the Biden administration used to admit those under the sponsorship initiative, and to allow them to apply for work permits.
Under the new move, the Trump administration would revoke the parole status of those allowed into the U.S. under the CHNV policy and place them in deportation proceedings if they have failed to apply for, or obtain, another immigration benefit, like asylum, a green card, or Temporary Protected Status, the internal proposal shows.
It’s unclear how many of the over half-million people allowed into the U.S. under this initiative have applied for other immigration programs. When the Trump administration’s plan will be finalized also remains unclear.
Those whose parole classification is revoked, and who lack another immigration status, would become ineligible to work in the U.S. lawfully. They would also receive notices to appear in immigration court, the first step in the deportation process, according to the internal documents.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration empowered federal immigration agents, including those with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to seek the deportation — including in an expedited fashion in some cases — of those permitted to enter the U.S. under various Biden administration policies, including the CHNV program.
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Some of those who have arrived to the U.S. under the CHNV process have access to programs that would protect them from deportation.
Many Haitians and Venezuelans, for example, are enrolled in the TPS program, which, like parole, temporarily shields them from deportation and gives them work permits. But TPS is in the crosshairs of Trump officials, who argue the policy has also been abused.
Just this week, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era extension of the TPS designation for Venezuelans, paving the way for some migrants from Venezuela to lose that status sooner.
Cubans with parole status have unique access to a process to become legal permanent residents due to a Cold War-era law. All nationalities can also apply for asylum, but that requires applicants to prove they are fleeing persecution based on certain factors, like their politics or religion — a high legal threshold.
Representatives for DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Tom Jawetz, a former DHS immigration official under the Biden administration, denounced the Trump administration’s plan.
“Targeting people who came to the U.S. with sponsors and continue to play by the rules isn’t just gratuitously cruel, but it will make our system more chaotic,” he said.
Mr. Trump, who seized on Biden’s unpopular immigration policies during the presidential campaign, has staged a wide-ranging crackdown on illegal and legal immigration.
Through a presidential decree, officials have effectively closed down the American asylum system; given ICE officers a broad mandate to target most unauthorized immigrants, including non-criminals; and assigned the Pentagon to help with border enforcement, including through the use of military planes to deport migrants entering the U.S. illegally.
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The Trump administration has also taken steps to restrict legal immigration, pausing arrivals of refugees, or people fleeing persecution overseas who are allowed to come to the U.S. lawfully after security and medical checks.
A key component of Mr. Trump’s moves have centered on dismantling the Biden administration’s immigration legacy. Beyond the CHNV program, the Trump administration has shut down other Biden-era initiatives, including a phone app that allowed migrants in Mexico to schedule a time to enter the U.S. at official border entry points to start their asylum cases.
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Trump officials have also suspended processes that allowed the U.S. to welcome Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Afghans escaping Taliban rule and Central American children hoping to reunite with relatives in the U.S.
Like the CHNV program, these policies rely on the immigration parole authority. The Trump administration has ordered officials to review those policies and determine whether they should be permanently terminated.
