The United States is set to revoke the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them a few weeks to leave the country.
President Donald Trump has promised a large-scale deportation effort, focusing mainly on immigrants from Latin America.
The decision affects about 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived under a program introduced by former President Joe Biden in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.
Their legal protection will end 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security publishes the order in the Federal Register, which is expected on Tuesday.
According to the order, immigrants affected by the policy must leave the United States by April 24 unless they obtain another legal status.
Welcome.US, an organisation assisting refugees, urged those impacted to seek legal advice immediately.
The CHNV program, launched in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to stay in the U.S. for two years. The Biden administration promoted it as a safe way to manage migration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, the Department of Homeland Security emphasised on Friday that the program was always meant to be temporary.
“Parole is inherently temporary and does not provide a pathway to legal status,” the order stated.
Meanwhile, President Trump last week used wartime powers to deport over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which has agreed to detain migrants and U.S. citizens at a reduced cost.