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United States Moves to End Migrant Status: Deadline to Leave the Country
The United States announced on Friday that it is set to end the legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants, giving them a few weeks to leave the country. This decision is part of immigration policies established by President Donald Trump, aimed at reducing the influx of migrants, particularly from Latin American countries.
This decision affects approximately 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who arrived in the United States under a program launched by former President Joe Biden in October 2022 and expanded in January of the following year.
One of President Trump’s prominent promises was to execute the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history and to limit immigration, especially from Latin American countries. According to the decision, these migrants will lose legal protection 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security's order is published in the federal register, which is expected to happen on Tuesday.
This means that the affected migrants must leave the United States by April 24 unless they can secure another immigration status that allows them to stay in the country, according to the department's order.
The organization "We Call US," which supports asylum seekers in the United States, has urged those affected by this decision to seek advice from an immigration attorney "immediately."
The program aimed at Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans allows for the entry of up to 30,000 migrants monthly from these four countries with poor human rights records into the United States for two years. Biden has described this plan as a "safe and humane" way to alleviate pressure on the crowded U.S.-Mexico border.
However, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Friday that the program is "temporary," emphasizing that "temporary permission to remain is inherently temporary, is not a basis for acquiring any immigration status, and is not considered acceptance for entry into the United States."
