Micheroni, who was born in Massachusetts, was confused. The message, titled, “Notification of Termination of Parole,” included no client name or case number.
“It took me a couple of minutes to realize it was sent to me, instead of someone I represent,” Micheroni said.
The message was not intended for her, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. But it was also not a scam. Rather, it was a product of the Trump administration’s efforts to deport hundreds of thousands of migrants allowed into the country under Biden-era initiatives that granted them temporary permission to live and work in the United States.
“DHS is terminating your parole,” the email said. “Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.”
Authorities recently issued a wave of parole terminations by email, said Sarah Sherman-Stokes, associate director of the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston University School of Law. She said the email notices appear to be targeting asylum seekers who used the CPB One app, a Biden-era program that allowed migrants to schedule appointments to enter the country and await asylum hearings.
Citizens could have received those emails by mistake if an immigrant listed their email as contact information, a senior DHS official said in a statement.
“[Customs and Border Protection] is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis,” the statement said.
The recent wave of terminations does not apply to special programs granting temporary status to Ukrainian and Afghan war refugees, DHS said. But the Trump administration has said it intends to cancel parole for more than half a million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans granted humanitarian parole since October 2022, as well as more than 900,000 migrants who entered by making appointments through the CBP One app.
People who entered the country using CBP One were following the rules, Sherman-Stokes said.
“Now having given all their personal information to the government, they are being told to self-deport,” she said.
Jeff Thielman, president of the International Institute of New England, which coordinates services for immigrants in Massachusetts, said dozens of his organization’s clients received the letters from ICE. Most are Haitian, he said, who were legally admitted through the CBP One application.
“It is terrifying for people to get a letter like this,” Thielman said. “They followed all the rules, did everything they were supposed to do, reported whereabouts and location to the government, and now they’re getting punished for it.”
On Thursday, a federal judge in Boston issued a stay blocking the administration from ending the humanitarian parole program.
Megan Kludt, a Massachusetts immigration attorney, described the letters as a way to pressure people to leave the country without going through the courts.
“If you want them to leave and you can’t deport them, the only other option is to try to scare them away,” Kludt said.
Micheroni, who has practiced immigration law for 12 years, said she had never before seen immigration parole terminated by email. It is one of many rapid changes in how immigration cases are being handled by DHS under Trump, she said.
She said she is not worried about the email affecting her personally, given that it was not intended for her. But she is concerned for her clients and other immigrants, who are increasingly afraid they will be targeted next, she said.
“It’s meant to be an intimidation tactic to get people to leave the country,” Micheroni said. “In some ways, I don’t think they really care who they reach, as long as the message is being received.”
Dan Glaun can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @dglaun. Jason Laughlin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @jasmlaughlin.
