The Trump administration has initiated the process of sending termination notices to approximately 500,000 foreign nationals who had been granted temporary protections to live and work in the United States through a special humanitarian program.
This initiative, known as the CHNV program, provided temporary status for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, which was operational from 2023 until its discontinuation by President Trump earlier this year.
The recipients of these termination notices from the Department of Homeland Security have been urged to “self-deport immediately.”
This action followed a Supreme Court decision granting the DHS the authority to require CHNV participants to exit the country while they challenge the termination of the program in legal proceedings.
Individuals who choose to “self-deport” using the DHS’s Home Mobile App will be eligible for travel assistance along with a $1,000 incentive upon returning to their countries of origin.
Additionally, a month prior, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to rescind the protected status for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been permitted to stay in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program.
The CHNV program participants had received temporary, two-year protections after fleeing their home nations due to conflict or hazardous living conditions.
In remarks regarding the program’s termination, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused the Biden administration of being dishonest with the American public.
As DHS continued to distribute the termination notices, Trump expressed concern about the impact of his administration’s strict immigration policies on the agriculture, hotel, and leisure industries, which often rely on undocumented workers.
“Our great farmers and those in the hotel and leisure sectors are reporting that our very aggressive immigration policy is driving away valuable, long-term workers, making it nearly impossible to find replacements,” Trump stated in a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning.
He further noted, “In many instances, criminals allowed into our country by the very foolish Biden Open Borders Policy are the ones applying for these jobs.”
“This is unacceptable. We must protect our farmers while removing criminals from the United States,” he proclaimed, hinting that “changes are coming.”
Later, speaking with reporters, Trump reiterated his perspective that the deportation initiatives were detrimental to agricultural communities.
“Farmers are suffering greatly. They have excellent workers who have been with them for decades. While they’re not citizens, they have proven to be exceptional employees,” Trump commented.
“We can’t just take farmers and expel all their workers. You can visit a farm and see people who have dedicated 20 or even 25 years of hard work.” He added, “The farm owner values them, and yet we’re supposed to just send them away.”
He concluded, “We’re going to draft an order on this matter soon. We simply cannot do this to our farmers or the leisure sector,” although the White House did not provide immediate details regarding the potential order.
