The Trump administration has made good on a threat to end a Biden-era program that assisted migrants from several countries in entering the United States provided they had financial support.
On President Donald J. Trump’s first day in office he signed executive order 14159 titled, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” in which he signaled the end of the President Joe Biden administration program “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans” or the CHNV Program.
END OF BIDEN ERA POLICY
This threat was made good on March 24, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would end the CHNV program for migrants utilizing the program.
“These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy goals,” read the noticed posted on the federal registry and signed by United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
The CNHV program will be terminated as of April 24. Those who utilized the CHNV program are allowed to apply for alternative paths to immigration but, failing that, will face deportation and are encouraged to self deport.
The program, announced in January 2023, allowed people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to work and live in the United States for up to two years. However, in order to do so they had to have a financial sponsor in the U.S. and be able to pass a background check according to the American Immigration Council’s fact sheet on the program.
The Biden administration introduced the program to help curb illegal immigration from the affected countries, which all faced humanitarian crises that lead to surging immigration rates to the United States.
The program expanded on a previous program exclusively for Venezuelan migrants introduced in October 2022.
ICE ENFORCEMENT AND DEPORTATIONS
The removal of the program comes as the Trump administration further cracks down on immigration. With the DHS announcing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had seen a 627% increase in arrests, according to a Feb. 26 news release.
“Hundreds of thousands of criminals were let into this country illegally. We are sending them home, and they will never be allowed to return,” said Noem in the news release.
The administration has received criticism for, among many other things, the haphazard and indiscriminate nature of said arrests and the following deportations.
On March 14, Trump issued a proclamation that invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act as a way to deport Venezuelan nationals to a prison in El Salvador.
“I find and declare that TdA (Tren de Aragua) is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States,” said Trump in the proclamation.
Despite the insistence that deportees were exclusively criminals belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, reporting by 60 minutes found that a majority didn’t possess a criminal record.
“We could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans – 179 men- now sitting in prison,” noted the 60 minutes story by Cecilia Vega posted April 6.
Among those currently held at the prison is Abrego Garcia, who was taken to a Texas detention center before being transferred to the prison, despite his protected status.
“On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” reads a court filing by the Trump administration acknowledging the error.
The Trump administration has maintained Garcia is now under El Salvadorian jurisdiction and thus it is are unable to return him.
An order to return Garcia by 12:01 a.m. April 8 was given by United States District Court for the District of Maryland Judge Paula Xinis but a stay was placed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delayed his return further.
“The United States has never claimed that it’s powerless to correct its error and before today, it did not contend that doing so would cause it any harm,” said Xinis in an April 7 response to the stay by Roberts. “That is because the only one harmed by the current state of affairs is Abrego Garcia.”
