US Government Seeks to Revoke Legal Status for Over 532,000 Migrants

The United States government has taken significant steps to challenge the legal status of over 532,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The administration has approached the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a lower court ruling that currently protects these individuals under humanitarian provisions.

Attorney General John Sauer filed the request on Thursday, seeking the Supreme Court's intervention to nullify a previous ruling issued by a federal judge. This ruling had blocked the government's intention to end the humanitarian protections afforded to migrants from the aforementioned countries.

The appeal to the Supreme Court comes in the wake of accusations directed at the Boston federal judge, Indira Talwani, who suspended the government's plan to revoke the legal status of individuals participating in the CHNV program. Critics argue that her decision has undermined a crucial aspect of the government's immigration policy, with claims that it infringes on the executive branch's authority in immigration matters.

In April, Judge Talwani ruled that the government's actions were based on a misinterpretation of immigration law. She clarified that expedited removal processes apply primarily to non-citizens who entered the United States unlawfully, and not to those who have been granted legal status through programs like CHNV.

In March, the previous administration under President Donald Trump announced plans to terminate the legal residency of approximately 532,000 migrants who had entered the United States through this program. The government set a deadline of April 24 for these individuals to leave the country unless they could provide an alternative legal status.

The CHNV program was initiated in October 2022 by President Joe Biden, permitting up to 30,000 migrants per month to enter the United States due to the challenging human rights situations in their home countries. Trump's administration had campaigned on a platform emphasizing strict measures against unlawful immigration, which resonated with a significant portion of the electorate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

As Trump positions himself for another presidential bid, he has vowed to implement the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, a move that has aroused controversy and faced numerous legal challenges.