US Set to Expel 500,000 Migrants

The United States has announced plans to terminate the legal status of over 500,000 migrants, giving them only a few weeks to leave the country.

President Donald Trump has vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, reinforcing his administration’s tough stance on immigration, particularly from Latin American nations.

The decision affects about 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who entered the US under a program launched by former President Joe Biden in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.

Under the new order, these migrants will lose their legal protection 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security publishes the directive in the Federal Register, scheduled for Tuesday.

This means they must leave the U.S. by April 24 unless they secure an alternative legal status that allows them to remain.

The organization Welcome.US, which supports asylum seekers, has urged those affected to seek legal advice immediately.

The program initially allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these four countries—many of which face severe human rights challenges—to enter and stay in the US for two years. President Biden had promoted the initiative as a safe and humane way to ease pressure on the overcrowded U.S.-Mexico border.

However, the Department of Homeland Security emphasized that the program was always intended to be temporary. The decision stated that the permit was not a path to permanent residency or citizenship and does not grant formal admission into the US.