“It’s Time for You to Leave the U.S.”
“It’s time for you to leave the United States. If you don’t leave immediately, you will be subject to police measures for your expulsion.” With this email, 985,000 migrants have learned that their CBP One residence permit has been canceled. “The threat is illogical and illegal,” immigration lawyer Nicolás A. Olano tells SOL DE MEDIANOCHE.“CBP One was created to apply for asylum without crossing the border illegally,” says Olano. “It allowed entry into the country through a Parole - a temporary visa - for this sole purpose. However, at the same time they were granted parole, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immediately placed these individuals in removal proceedings, forcing them to present their case to an immigration judge.”
Nicolás A. Olano adds that “while the Parole lasted (generally, two years), it allowed immigrants to obtain a work permit for their Parole duration. Once the deportation process began, Parole was canceled. But for a long time USCIS did not apply this interpretation of the law and allowed these people to obtain work permits.” “Today, the authorities have begun to issue orders formally ‘canceling’ Parole, in a symbolic act, because there is nothing left to cancel.” In addition, all individuals who entered the country on parole under CBP One are already in removal proceedings, and therefore, must file their asylum application as part of that process. The threat that they will be deported if they do not leave within 30 days is illogical and illegal. Who could be affected by this change? Mainly those people who: • Entered within the last two years, and • They are still dependent on the work permit derived from the original parole. For these people, there are options. If they have already filed their asylum application with the judge and at least 150 days have passed since then, they can apply for a work permit based on that asylum case. If they have not yet filed their asylum application, they should do so as soon as possible in order to qualify for a work permit on that basis. In total, Trump’s order is just another mechanism to scare immigrants that also shows a total disconnect between what he says and the law. CBP One has been legal since January 2023 and would have protected tens of thousands of people with appointments scheduled before February, who were waiting at the border with Mexico. The appointments were canceled by Trump on January 20, upon taking office as president. In addition to the almost one million people affected, another one million (1.1) Venezuelans (600,000) and Haitians (500,000) have had their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) canceled and would have had to leave the country were it not for the judicial blockade. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also withdrew the permission to remain in the country of 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans from the Humanitarian Parole program, canceled by Trump. The same goes for thousands of foreign university students with permits to study in this country. Dulce Guzmán, executive director of Alianza Américas (the main transnational advocacy network of Latin American migrant workers’ organizations), insists that “the people with CBP One followed a legal process, trusted the system and are now betrayed and persecuted because they do not fulfill Trump’s white supremacist objectives.” Helena Olea, deputy director of Programs at Alianza Americas, adds to SOL DE MEDIANOCHE that “the early termination of CBP One forces us to explore alternatives. Those who fear for their life or safety if they are deported can apply for asylum and protection against torture, but they must find out if they are still eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).” “Those married to an American,” Olea continues, “can adjust their status. They should seek legal advice. We must not give up.” Democratic representative for New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also encourages people “not to give up”. AOC has sent an email to SOL DE MEDIANOCHE to tell us: “The right wing creates fear so that we give up and withdraw from public life. The people are standing up, fighting and ready to organize. AOC highlights the fact that immigrants contribute to Medicare through their taxes. According to the Yale Budget Lab, in 2023, immigrants who were undocumented paid $66 billion, of which $43 billion went to fund Social Security and Medicare. The loss of their tax contributions could amount to 313 billion dollars in ten years. |