Trump moves to revoke legal status of over 500,000 migrants

The United States gave hundreds of thousands of immigrants weeks to depart the country after announcing on Friday that it was ending their legal status.

President Donald Trump has promised to reduce immigration, mostly from Latin American countries, and implement the biggest deportation operation in US history.

About 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) who entered the country through a program started by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden in October 2022 and expanded in January of the following year are impacted by the order.

The Biden administration had argued that CHNV would help curb illegal border crossings and facilitate better security vetting.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), now under Trump’s leadership, has criticised the programme, calling it a failure that undercut American workers and fuelled crime.

The 35-page notice stated that some migrants may still be allowed to remain on a case-by-case basis.

The United States, urged those affected by the move to immediately seek advice from an immigration lawyer.

President Trump is reviewing the status of 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the US during the Russia-Ukraine war and has already announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians, effective August 2025. The decision on Venezuelan TPS is facing a legal challenge.

Trump last week invoked rare wartime legislation to fly more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which has offered to imprison migrants and even US citizens at a discount.