The Trump administration has begun revoking the legal status of migrants who entered the U.S. under a Biden administration process powered by a smartphone app formerly known as CBP One, instructing them to leave the country immediately or face arrest and deportation.
During the Biden administration, more than 900,000 migrants entered the U.S. at official entry points along the southern border after securing appointments through CBP One. They were typically given notices to appear in immigration court, to begin the asylum process, as well as a two-year grant of immigration parole, which allowed them to work in the U.S. lawfully. The policy was designed to dissuade migrants from crossing the border unlawfully.
But the Trump administration has started sending notices to those who entered through the CBP One system, informing them that their parole status is being terminated over 7 days.
“If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States — unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here,” the message sent by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by CBS News reads.
The notification encourages migrants to sign up for self-deportation through the very same app that allowed them to enter the U.S. It is now called CBP Home.
“Again, DHS is terminating your parole. Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you,” the notice says. “Please depart the United States immediately.”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the status cancellations, saying in a statement to CBS News that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “has full authority to revoke parole.”
“Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security,” the department added. “Formal termination notices have been issued, and affected aliens are urged to voluntarily self-deport using the CBP Home App. Those who refuse will be found, removed, and permanently barred from reentry.”
The Trump administration’s actions should not immediately affect migrants who entered via CBP One and applied for asylum and have pending cases in immigration court. The government generally has to wait for those cases to be adjudicated or terminated before moving to deport them.
The move to strip those who entered under the app of their legal status is the latest effort by the Trump administration to dismantle Biden-era immigration programs and expand the pool of migrants eligible to be arrested and deported.
The administration has given more than half a million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrived under a separate Biden administration initiative until April 24 to self-deport or face arrest by deportation agents. Like CBP One entrants, those who came to the U.S. under this sponsorship policy, known as CHNV, were granted parole upon entering the country.
Officials have also tried to phase out a Temporary Protected Status program for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants, though that effort is currently held up in federal court.
