Hubert Montoya, a U.S. citizen and immigration attorney based in Austin, Texas, was amused when he received an email from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security instructing him to leave the country immediately or face deportation. Montoya described the notification as absurd.
This incident appears to be a glitch resulting from the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle a policy from the Biden era, which permitted temporary residence and work in the U.S. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been quietly revoking two-year permits issued to individuals using the CBP One app at U.S.-Mexico border crossings. Since January 2023, this app facilitated the entry of over 900,000 people.
Unlike the high-profile cancellations of Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole for individuals from countries like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, the revocation of CBP One permits has been conducted without formal announcements or press releases. Previous attempts to cancel these protections were halted by judges following legal challenges from advocacy groups.
Notices indicating the cancellation of CBP One permits began appearing in recipients’ inboxes in late March, instructing many to leave immediately, while others were given a seven-day notice. Some recipients of these notices were U.S. citizens, such as Timothy J. Brenner, a lawyer born in Connecticut and residing in Houston, who was told to leave the U.S. on April 11. Brenner expressed concern that the administration might be targeting immigration attorneys through a database.
CBP has confirmed the issuance of notices terminating temporary legal status under CBP One, although they did not specify the number of recipients. Of the 936,000 people benefiting from this system as of December, not all received notices. The agency acknowledged that some notices might have been sent to unintended recipients, including attorneys, if contact details for U.S. citizens had been provided.
Online chat groups have been rife with fear and confusion, which some critics suggest is the intended effect of the administration. Brenner noted that three of his clients chose to return to El Salvador upon receiving the notices. Hillary Li, counsel for the Justice Action Center, emphasized the uncertainty surrounding the number of individuals affected, stressing that reports from attorneys and impacted individuals were varied and confusing.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump suspended CBP One for new arrivals, although those already in the U.S. believed their two-year permits would allow them to stay until expiration. However, the cancellation notices disrupted their temporary stability, starting ominously with, “It is time for you to leave the United States.”
Robyn Barnard, senior director for refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, highlighted the confusion and anxiety among the affected individuals, many of whom were hearing about the notices through community rumors and online forums.
Attorneys suggest that some beneficiaries of CBP One may still have the opportunity to file for asylum or seek other forms of relief within a one-year window. Notices have also been sent to individuals with removal orders on hold due to other temporary protection measures. A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily halted deportations for more than 500,000 individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, who had arrived via a separate pathway involving online applications and self-funded flights to U.S. airports.
Maria, a 48-year-old Nicaraguan woman who had been supportive of Trump’s election and arrived via this route, described receiving the notice as a “bomb” that left her feeling paralyzed. From her Florida location, Maria, fearing detention and deportation, expressed her intent to continue working and file for asylum.
