"It's Time for You to Leave": DHS Sends Parole Termination to US Citizens

In yet another example of bureaucratic confusion under the current administration, the Department of Homeland Security is sending “notices of termination of parole” to people who were clearly not paroled into the country—including US citizens.

For context, the parole power allows immigrants to enter the country lawfully and possibly obtain a work authorization card. Under the Biden administration, parole was used to allow many migrants into the country while pursuing applications for humanitarian protection.

The Trump administration ended the widespread use of parole for new cases and has now begun revoking parole from immigrants inside the country. The termination of parole is currently affecting hundreds of thousands of migrants who are receiving notices that they must leave the country.

But DHS is not only sending these notifications to migrants—the agency is also sending these notices to citizens.

One person who works with immigrants contacted me today with news that they—a US citizen—had also received a notice that DHS was revoking their parole and that they would be required to leave the country in seven days.

I suspect this person is not the only one.

Edit 4/12/2025: While at an immigration workshop this weekend, another immigration law professor announced that she had received one of these email notifications, and several other people I know have either posted online or shared with me personally about having received one of these notifications.

Clearly this was sent in error. But how did this mistake happen and who is minding the shop over at DHS?

I received permission to share the version of the parole termination below so that you can read the substance and tone of the letter.

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