The Trump administration has ordered nearly a million illegal immigrants allowed to stay in the country under Biden’s special “humanitarian parole” program through the CBP One smartphone app to leave immediately.
The app allowed undocumented individuals to self-declare their presence in the country, get paroled, and schedule a court date. While waiting for that date that rarely came, they obtained work authorization documents. In roughly one year, over 936,000 illegal immigrants registered at various points of entry. The program was a pathetic attempt by the administration to address the illegal immigration crisis.
On Jan 20, 2025, the Trump administration removed the scheduling function, preventing new illegal immigrants from obtaining work permits or setting a court date. The app also changed its name to CBP Home, whose new aim, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, was “restoring integrity to our immigration system.”
Now, Trump wants all the illegal immigrants who registered via the CBP One app to self-deport or face serious civil, legal, and financial consequences. The app recently posted a notice of termination of all paroles and directed all affected individuals to leave the country immediately.
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” it warned.
“You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paroled you into the United States for a limited period. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A) and 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(e), DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate your parole. Unless it expires sooner, your parole will terminate 7 days from the date of this notice.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also announced that the administration will reinstate the $998 daily fine for each day the illegal immigrant stayed in the country after the self-deportation order.
“If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”
Illegal immigrants who attempt to trick the system by submitting an intent to self-deport but continue living in the country will incur an additional fine of between $1,000 and $5,000. Similarly, those who fail to self-deport will lose all the privileges they acquired under the special parole program, including work authorization.
Other consequences of failure to self-deport include losing property and cash to pay the fines and being banned permanently from entering the United States. They also risk spending time in a federal prison before being deported.
However, those who self-deport can set a convenient date and place of departure and will be entitled to their property. They also will be eligible for subsidized flights and can be allowed back into the United States legally.
“Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security,” DHS said in a media statement.
Besides the parole program, the Trump administration also ended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of nearly 500,000 foreign nationals from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba. Trump had attempted to end the program during his first term but faced legal challenges. However, the program is no longer under judicial review, making it more likely to succeed. Trump also recently scored another victory after the Supreme Court allowed him to deport gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
