Migrants allowed in temporarily under Biden programs can be removed: DHS memo

(WASHINGTON) — Migrants allowed into the U.S. temporarily under certain Biden administration programs can be quickly expelled, according to a memo sent by the Trump administration’s acting secretary of homeland security.

The memo, sent out Thursday night by Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman and obtained by ABC News, says that a migrant who has “been granted parole under a policy that may be paused, modified, or terminated” could be subject to expedited removal.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has the freedom to deport migrants covered by such “parole” programs — used to grant entrance to migrants under which for urgent humanitarian reasons.

The Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Venezuela (CHNV) parole program allowed for certain migrants from those counties to apply for parole status into U.S. for up to two years. There were, however, conditions on the applicants, for example they needed to have a sponsor in the U.S. and be able to pass security vetting.

Both programs were swiftly done away with when President Donald Trump came into office earlier this week.

“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country,” a DHS spokesperson said on Tuesday. “This was all stopped on day one of the Trump administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”

The memo, first reported by The New York Times, says it is up to an ICE agent to review an individual case and determine what enforcement is necessary.

“Take all steps necessary to review the alien’s case and consider, in exercising your enforcement discretion, whether any such alien should be placed in removal proceedings; and Review the alien’s parole status to determine, in exercising your enforcement discretion, whether parole remains appropriate in light of any changed legal or factual circumstances,” according to the memo.

The memo says for any person in the country legally who ICE is “aware of,” agents should take “all necessary steps to determine if they should be in the country

“Take all steps necessary to review the alien’s case and consider, in exercising your enforcement discretion, whether to apply expedited removal. This may include steps to terminate any ongoing removal proceeding and/or any active parole status.”

The administration expanded its expedited removal authority to its “statutory maximum” — meaning someone who is in the country for less than two years can be removed without an immigration hearing — an interpretation of the law that immigration advocates say has never been used before.

“To maximize efficiency in the short term, DHS components may wish to prioritize aliens eligible for expedited removal who failed to apply for asylum within the statutory deadline,” the DHS memo said.

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