TUCSON, AZ — In Tucson, an immigration attorney received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security, telling her she must leave the United States.
Pamela Rioles Saeed says one morning, she got an email from DHS that said she must leave the U.S. within seven days because her parole was revoked.
But Rioles Saeed is an American citizen born in Boston. She said this letter baffled her.
“I thought this was for one of my clients but then i saw that it was addressed only to me," she said. “With the dot gov, it said it was from CBP.”
After she got the email, she spoke with other attorneys in her chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association to see if she was the only one who received this letter.
“Another attorney confirmed that other attorneys in his office received them,” she said.
DHS sent Scripps News Tucson a statement that said notices may have been sent to unintended participants.
"CBP has issued notices terminating parole for individuals who do not have lawful status to remain," DHS press said in the statement. "This process is not limited to CBP One users and does not currently apply to those paroled under programs such as U4U and OAW.CBP used the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications. If a non-personal email—such as an American citizen contact—was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.
For U.S. citizens in the same situation, Rioles Saeed said to ignore the email and for those who are not citizens, to contact an immigration attorney.
“There is a true recklessness coming from the government and shows an intimidating attitude towards our immigrant clients,” she said.
A list of immigration lawyers can be foundhere.
