Legal immigrants face new hurdles as Trump widens restrictions

Nobody is safe

The Trump Administration is intensifying its large-scale deportation efforts, escalating measures against immigrants and confronting judicial attempts to hinder these actions.

No longer just going after illegal immigrants

Not only is the campaign aimed at undocumented individuals, but it has also begun to affect those who may have previously considered themselves secure in their legal status.

Legal immigrants and other visa-holders

The campaign widened after the Administration decided to target the status of immigrants who entered the country legally under Biden-era programs, and tightened the criteria for admission into the US and visa-holding.

Tightening entry ports

According to the New York Times, the Administration decided to tighten security at entry ports, retaining tourists, checking electronic devices, and denying entry for some.

Targeted deportations

It has also moved to deport green card holders over their views of the war in the Middle East. That is the case of a Columbia student that organized protests, or a Brown University doctor.

Guaranteeing deportations

President Trump also searched for mechanisms to guarantee his Administration can expel people who entered the country legally under programs he and his officers do not agree with.

Parole program

An example of that is the thousands of Haitians, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who entered the US through the humanitarian parole program.

Temporary residency

The program granted immigrants a temporary two-year residency and work permit with a US sponsor who committed to paying for their expenses in the country.

Ending the program

The Trump Administration said former President Biden abused the parole authority. President Trump eliminated the program on his first day with an executive order.

Going further with each step

Still, that order only affected the people who were applying for parole at that moment, so the Administration sought a two-step action to remove those who had already entered the country with the program.

Second step

At the end of March, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would revoke legal protections for the 532,000 paroled immigrants. The notice gave them 30 days to leave.

First step

A few days before that, the Administration made sure to prevent paroled immigrants from seeking other legal status in the country, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.

Closing the doors

An internal USCIS memo unveiled by CBS ordered a freeze of immigration applications for the people who entered the country from Latin America and Ukraine using parole or similar programs.

Searching alternatives

Many of the immigrants who were in the US with temporary permits, such as parole, were searching for alternatives to remain in the country legally, experts told CBS.

Countries in conflict

According to CBS, many of them were trying to apply for Temporary Protective Status, given to citizens from countries like Ukraine or Venezuela, suffering humanitarian crises.

TPS

However, the Trump Administration has already narrowed the possibility of requesting TPS. According to The New York Times, it ended the status for 300,000 Venezuelans.

Family-sponsored visa

Still, the application freeze will also impact other immigrants. CBS said the pause will affect a program that allowed certain Latin American immigrants to wait in the US for a family-based green card.

Cold War law for Cubans

It can also prevent Cubans who entered through the parole program from benefiting from a Cold War era law that grants them citizenship automatically a year after entering the US.

Fraud accusations

The broadcaster said the memo justified the freeze by claiming widespread fraud in the parole program. It also claimed that paroled immigrants were not vetted properly.