The U.S. government announced Friday it is ending the temporary legal status of more than half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, giving them 30 days to leave the country unless they secure a different immigration status.
The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s pledge to launch the largest deportation operation in U.S. history and sharply reduce immigration, particularly from Latin American nations.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the termination affects about 532,000 individuals who entered under the CHNV program—an initiative launched by former President Joe Biden in late 2022 and expanded in early 2023. The program had allowed up to 30,000 people per month from the four countries to stay in the U.S. for two years.
The order will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, setting April 24 as the deadline for affected migrants to depart the U.S. unless they’ve found another legal path to remain.
The DHS emphasized that the CHNV program was always meant to be temporary and does not serve as a path to permanent residency.
Immigrant advocacy group Welcome.US has urged those affected to immediately consult immigration attorneys.
In a separate development, Trump recently used wartime powers to deport over 200 suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which reportedly offered to detain them at a lower cost.
