The United States announced on Friday that it will terminate the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them a few weeks to leave the country.
President Donald Trump said his administration was committed to carrying out the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history and reducing immigration, particularly from Latin American countries.
The decision impacts approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who entered the U.S. under a program launched by President Joe Biden in October 2022 and expanded in January 2023.
These individuals will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order from the Department of Homeland Security is published in the Federal Register, expected on Tuesday. This means they must leave the U.S. by April 24 unless they secure an alternative immigration status.
Welcome.US, an organization that assists refugees, has urged those affected to seek advice from an immigration lawyer as soon as possible.
The program, which began in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these four countries—known for their poor human rights conditions—to stay in the U.S. for two years.
