The Department of Homeland Security sent notices over the weekend informing people from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela their parole is being terminated early on April 24th.
ABC15 obtained one of the notices sent to a woman from Haiti, who fled her home country because of the violence.
"Peace in my head, peace inside me, for my son, for me, everything is okay here,” The woman, who we are not identifying due to safety concerns, told ABC15, adding that she believes she would be killed if she was sent back to Haiti.
Another woman from Haiti, who also received the notice, told ABC15 she sought safety in America after her father was killed in Haiti.
"In 2022, a group of people killed my father in front of me,” she said. “Last month they put a fire on my home in Haiti.”
Both women have asylum cases pending, however, immigration attorney Hillary Walsh said that doesn’t mean they’re safe from deportation.
“Just having the asylum application pending, if you've been here for less than two years, this letter specifically states that we are still planning to pick you up and deport you in under expedited removal, even if you have asylum pending,” Walsh said.
In addition to losing parole, the notice from DHS also states work permits will no longer be valid leaving both women we spoke to concerned about their future here in the United States.
"If I become illegal my mom can’t work, if you can't work, you can’t have money, you can’t have food, you can’t have anything,” said one woman from Haiti.
President Donald Trump ended humanitarian parole from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, also known as CHNV, and ended asylum requests through the CBP One App. On Monday, a judge blocked Trump from ending Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.
The Trump administration is also moving to end deportation protection for people from Haiti, however, that is currently being challenged in court.
“I would say every parole program is basically getting gutted,” Walsh said.
