WASHINGTON — One night this month, Los Angeles immigration attorney Harriet Steele opened her email to a notice from the Department of Homeland Security.
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” it read.
Steele was confused — and concerned. She is a U.S. citizen born in Los Angeles, but worried the email was meant for a client.
The email, which she received at 9:41 p.m. Pacific time April 10, was a notice of termination of parole, a humanitarian form of legal entry that was significantly expanded under the Biden administration.
Under President Trump’s mass deportation agenda, his administration has targeted people who entered the country legally, in addition to those who entered illegally.
This month, the Trump administration revoked the legal status and work authorization of migrants who entered the U.S. using the Biden-era border appointment app. More than 900,000 people were paroled into the country under that program, though with asylum and other legal pathways, it’s unclear how many parole beneficiaries are affected by the Trump administration’s action.
The administration also revoked another form of parole, for more than 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who flew to the U.S. at their own expense. But a federal judge halted those terminations last week.
As for emails telling people to leave the country, the Department of Homeland Security said in an emailed statement that U.S. Customs and Border Protection used each immigrant’s known email address to send such 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,” the statement reads. “CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.”
But Steele said she doesn’t have any clients who entered the U.S. under the parole process. She represents unaccompanied children through the pro bono law firm Public Counsel.
“The Trump administration operates, in many ways, on a mix of cruelty and incompetence,” she said. “It’s hard to know what the exact process was by which I happened to receive that email in the middle of the night, East Coast time.”
Steele said the notice was indicative of “this fear that the Trump administration is attempting to create” — both for immigrants and even for lawyers. Citing “rampant fraud and meritless claims,” the administration last month issued a memo ordering sanctions and stricter oversight of immigration attorneys.
The notice Steele received says DHS is using its discretion to terminate the parole, at most seven days from the date of the notice. It warns of potential criminal prosecution, civil fines and penalties.
“Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you,” the notice concludes.
That message is getting through to some people living in the country without authorization. Immigrant rights activists and attorneys say they are hearing from people who are choosing to self-deport.
Steele is not the only U.S. citizen to receive such a notice. Another immigration attorney in Massachusetts received the same email, as did a doctor in Connecticut.
The American Immigration Lawyers Assn. issued a practice alert this month warning about the termination notices. Attorneys began receiving the notices around April 8, the association said, and in some cases the notices were delivered to attorneys who had nothing to do with the person’s parole process.
“At this juncture, it is unclear how many individuals have received similar notices and what the correct next steps are,” the alert states.
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