Trump administration orders expulsion of 500,000 refugees by April 24

The ruling will extend to individuals who have entered the US under the humanitarian parole program after October 2022. The program had previously been canceled by the Trump administration because they felt it was being "misused". This legal practice has for a long time enabled individuals whose nations are experiencing war or political turmoil to temporarily reside in the United States.

Edited By: Nishika Jha

Last Updated : 22 March 2025, 06:25 PM IST

Donald Trump (File )

The US government has made the announcement of withdrawing legal protection for over 5 00,000 individuals. The Department of Homeland Security states that the legal status of 532,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan citizens will end on April 24. The move will be for those who entered the US after October 2022. All these individuals entered the US through the humanitarian parole program. This legal method has long been used to allow people whose countries were facing war or political instability to stay temporarily in the United States. Trump terminated the program of humanitarian parole through the issuance of an executive order on the first day following his swearing in as president for the second time. He felt that it was being abused.

We campaigned on it, we will throw out illegal Americans

In his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to send away millions of individuals residing illegally in the US. As president, he has also begun shutting down legal doors for immigrants. Before this new directive, recipients of this program were allowed to remain in the US during the length of their parole. But the administration ceased processing their asylum, visas or other petitions, so they could remain for a longer duration.

The ruling was questioned in the federal courts

The order has already been challenged in US federal courts. A group of immigrants and several American citizens have sued the Trump administration. They are calling for the resumption of humanitarian parole. The Biden administration had brought 30,000 individuals from these four countries to the US each month for two years and the ability to work. He also convinced Mexico to accept back the same number of individuals from these nations, since the US was not able to return them to their nations.