U.S. immigration authorities issued a blunt warning in an unprecedented mass email to individuals living in the country on temporary protected status: “It is time for you to leave the United States.”
Titled “Notice of Termination of Parole,” the email declared: “If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States — unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here.” It also states that “any benefits you receive in the United States connected with your parole — such as work authorization — will also terminate.”
“Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you,” the email, a copy of which was reviewed by NBC News, concludes.
The Department of Homeland Security email was intended for the 14 million people living in the U.S. who fled unrest in countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.
But in the days following the email’s distribution, shocking reports surfaced that U.S. citizens in Massachusetts, Arizona and Connecticut all received the notices.
Nicole Micheroni, an immigration attorney from Boston and a U.S.-born citizen, said she received the notice last week.
“At first I thought it was for a client, and then I kind of laughed about it a little bit, and then I was a little concerned,” she said. “It was a range of emotions that happened pretty quickly.”
A senior DHS official said in a statement that Customs and Border Protection was “monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.”
“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 official said.
Micheroni and other immigration experts agree that U.S. citizens who receive the email should not legitimately worry that they could face deportation.
“This email was specifically addressed to people that entered the United States on parole, and parole means that the United States has agreed to let you into the United States and you don’t otherwise have a visa or a reason to be here,” Micheroni said. “So, if you’re a U.S. citizen, you shouldn’t be entering the United States on parole.”
Still, experts caution that U.S. citizens should take steps to protect themselves in the unlikely event that they are approached by immigration authorities contesting their citizenship.
Kristen Harris, an immigration attorney in Chicago, advised that U.S. citizens who receive the notice should immediately seek counsel from an immigration attorney.
“There is certainly no legal effect under current statute or regulation for a citizen to be ‘parole terminated’ given that especially a U.S. citizen would never, ever have been paroled in his or her life,” she said. “On the other hand, given how … fluid the current administration’s interpretation is of existing law, I think checking in with private immigration council would actually be advisable.”
In recent weeks, the Trump administration and immigration authorities have stepped up efforts to deport noncitizens.
Last month, the administration defied a judge’s order and sent hundreds of men to a high-security prison in El Salvador, claiming they were all members of a Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua. Some relatives of the men sent to the megaprison have strongly disputed claims that their family members are part of the gang.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvador immigrant living in Maryland under a court-issued protective order, was among those sent to the prison in what federal officials called an “administrative error.” The administration has repeatedly defied or ignored a court order to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Trump has also floated the idea of deporting U.S. citizens convicted of certain crimes in recent weeks.
Harris and Micheroni recommend that U.S. citizens who receive the notice collect their documentation, including birth certificates and U.S. passports, to prove they are U.S. citizens in case they are approached by immigration authorities.
“I’m not trying to cause people to panic, but I think if you find yourself accidentally on a list, it’s not crazy, but just make sure you have some documentation prepared somewhere,” Micheroni said.
The attorneys also raised concerns that U.S. citizens could unintentionally be grouped with noncitizens in other scenarios.
The New York Times recently reported that the Trump administration is moving to cancel the Social Security numbers of deported migrants by adding them to a list of deceased individuals, effectively blacklisting them from making or spending money.
Micheroni said she logged on to her online Social Security account in recent days and confirmed that it remains active.
“This particular email is hopefully not connected to the Social Security Administration canceling Social Security numbers, just because it sounds like this email went out to so many different people,” she said. “But it is a concern, and I think broader issues, errors like this or accidentally putting people on the wrong list has very serious consequences.”
Not all experts recommended taking action.
Jonathan A. Grode, an immigration lawyer in Philadelphia, said U.S. citizens should largely ignore the notices if they receive them. Grode also received the email in recent days and didn’t give it any attention.
“I know that I’m a U.S. citizen, not on parole. I’m not doing anything about it,” he said. “I had a good little giggle and deleted it.”
He suggested that the government likely knew it accidentally had American citizens on the list of email recipients but did not take steps to address the issue.
“This is a government of sledgehammers, not scalpels, right? I personally believe that the United States is a very mature and effectuated country, and moves should be taken thoughtfully, pragmatically and carefully,” he said. “This government does not share that opinion.”
“They want to be agents of change, and their way of doing it is very big and very bold and very aggressive,” he added.
