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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
What to Know as Supreme Court Lets Trump End Migrant Program
Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States deplane at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Friday, May 2, 2025. Credit - Ariana Cubillos—AP Photo Hundreds of thousands of migrants could be at risk of deportation after a divided Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump Administration can—for now—end a Biden-era program that extended humanitarian parole protections to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The CHNV special-parole program allowed migrants from the four countries to travel legally to the U.S. and stay and work in the country for up to two years. It was used by at least 530,000 migrants since late 2022. The Supreme Court's ruling, the latest of several decisions the court has issued green-lighting the Trump Administration's aggressive approach to immigration, gives Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem the discretion to revoke the parole program while legal challenges to its termination move through the courts. '[The Biden Administration] allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers,' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said after the ruling came down. 'Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First.' Several immigration advocacy groups said the decision will have 'devastating consequences' on immigrant communities. 'This is a deeply tragic decision that penalizes half a million people for complying with our immigration laws,' Todd Schulte, president of an immigration and criminal justice reform advocacy organization, wrote in a statement emailed to TIME. 'This decision will have devastating and immediate consequences…The government failed to show any harm remotely comparable to that which will come from half a million people losing their jobs and becoming subject to deportation.' Here's what to know about the program and the Supreme Court's decision. The program, rolled out during the Biden Administration, allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to obtain authorization to come to the United States legally, as well as to stay and work legally in the country and seek humanitarian relief or other immigration benefits, if they were eligible, during a two-year parole period. It was initially adopted in 2022 as a response to high levels of illegal immigration, specifically for Venezuelan immigrants, says David Beir, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. The program was predated by a similar program created in early 2022 for Ukrainian immigrants in response to the surge of Ukrainians who came to the border seeking asylum after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The program required migrants from Venezuela to obtain a sponsor in the United States who would be willing to take some measure of financial responsibility for them, as well as an airline ticket to fly directly, and legally, to the United States. The Biden Administration rolled out the program in hopes that it would give the government control to vet incoming migrants and manage the flow of arrivals through air travel, rather than across the southern U.S. border, Beir wrote in 2023. Eligibility for the protections was later extended to people from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti, as well. The Supreme Court's Friday decision overruled a lower court in Massachusetts that temporarily blocked the federal government from implementing Noem's March 25 order to revoke the legal status given to migrants under the program. That order was in line with President Donald Trump's Jan. 20 Executive Order 'Securing Our Borders,' which instructed Noem to 'terminate all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my Executive Orders.' The Supreme Court ruling will allow the Administration to end the program while the case proceeds. The decision was unsigned and not accompanied by an explanation. Justice Kentaji Brown Jackson issued an incensed dissent, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, stating that the court 'has plainly botched this assessment today.' The program had been widely lauded by immigrant rights groups as a 'humanitarian relief' program utilized to help those in unstable conditions in their own countries seek refuge. 'Even within an immigration system that is decades overdue for a Congressional overhaul, the CHNV parole processes stood out as an innovative model for creating legal and orderly pathways,' wrote Schulte, of 'Granting parole to people fleeing harm dramatically reduced unauthorized migration to the southern border, and it allowed people to work and contribute, bringing greater stability to families, employers, and communities across the country.' Beir, of the Cato Institute, said that terminating the program could quickly end the legal status of migrants who have been protected under the program. 'The administration's already empowered its agents to arrest people who are on parole, to arrest people who are applicants for asylum,' Beir told TIME. 'The practical upshot is that a lot of these people had parole for two years, and if they haven't applied for asylum, then there's really no basis for them to be in the country, and they start accumulating unlawful presence as soon as this decision takes effect.' According to Beir, it is unclear how many migrants will be affected and potentially deported due to the ruling. 'Certainly half a million came in through the program,' Beir said. 'But then, a lot of these people were from Haiti and Venezuela, have temporary protected status, which you know the administration is eventually going to revoke as well. And then, of course, the backstop of being an asylum applicant for many people will be another way for them to be able to keep working legally and, you know, going through the process and stay here.' Beir says an important aspect of this decision that must be highlighted is that the migrants who used the program went through legal pathways to enter the United States—pathways opened based on promises made by the United States government when the program began: 'They pay for their own flights. They travel on airlines like any other visitors to the United States and the other you know, part of this is really completely unprecedented for an administration to en masse terminate the status of people who've come to the United States legally like this.' Contact us at letters@
Toronto Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
2-year-old girl reunites with mother in Venezuela after U.S. deportation
Published May 14, 2025 • 2 minute read Pro-government supporters hold up signs with the image of Maikelys Espinoza, a 2-year-old in US custody whose parents were deported separately, at a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 1, 2025. Photo by Ariana Cubillos / AP Photo CARACAS, Venezuela — A 2-year-old girl arrived Wednesday in Caracas to reunite with her mother after she was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S. in what Venezuela denounced as a kidnapping. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Maikelys Espinoza arrived at an airport outside the capital, Caracas, along with more than 220 deported migrants. Footage aired by state television showed Venezuela's first lady Cilia Flores carrying Maikelys at the airport. Later, Flores was shown handing the girl over to her mother, who had been waiting for her arrival at the presidential palace along with President Nicolas Maduro. 'Here is everyone's beloved little girl. She is the daughter and granddaughter of all of us,' Maduro said. The U.S. government had claimed the family separation last month was justified because the girl's parents allegedly have ties to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, which U.S. President Donald Trump designated a terrorist organization earlier this year. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The girl's mother was deported to Venezuela on April 25. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities sent her father to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March under Trump's invocation of an 18th-century wartime law to deport hundreds of immigrants. RECOMMENDED VIDEO For years, the government of Maduro had mostly refused the entry of immigrants deported from the U.S. But since Trump took office this year, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, including some 180 who spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been deported to their home country. The Trump administration has said the Venezuelans sent to Guantanamo and El Salvador are members of the Tren de Aragua, but has offered little evidence to back up the allegation. Maduro on Wednesday thanked Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, for allowing Maikelys to reunite with her mother in a 'profoundly humane' act. Grenell met with Maduro in Caracas shortly after Trump took office. 'There have been and will be differences, but it is possible, with God's blessing, to move forward and resolve many issues,' Maduro said, alluding to the deep divisions between his and Trump's governments. 'I hope and aspire that very soon we can also rescue Maikelys' father and the 253 Venezuelans who are in El Salvador.' Editorial Cartoons Columnists Celebrity Olympics Celebrity
Newsweek
13-05-2025
- Newsweek
US Issues Travel Warning for South American Country
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. State Department has heightened its warning against travel to Venezuela, reissuing its advisory on May 12, 2025, with new and more severe language that urges "[a]ll U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela" to "depart immediately." The revised alert not only underscores existing dangers such as wrongful detention and civil unrest, but introduces alarming mentions of torture in detention and directs Americans to "prepare a will" if they intend to travel. The new travel advisory replaces a September 2024 version that had warned of wrongful detentions but did not previously include guidance as severe or specific. Why It Matters The updated advisory marks a rare instance where the U.S. government openly advises citizens to create a will and designate power of attorney before visiting a country, emphasizing what the State Department describes as an "extreme danger." Tensions between the two countries remain high. The U.S. Treasury Department revoked Chevron's license to export Venezuelan oil, prompting Caracas to suspend deportation flights on March 8 though an agreement to restart repatriation flights carrying immigrants who were in the U.S. illegally was reached later that same month. Government supporters partake in a May Day rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 1, 2025. Government supporters partake in a May Day rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 1, 2025. Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo What Is the Updated Travel Advice for Venezuela? The advisory states: "Do not travel to or remain in Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure." It also directs: "If you decide to travel to a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney." The U.S. has not had a functioning embassy in Caracas since March 2019, leaving Americans in Venezuela without consular support or evacuation options. The most significant changes from the 2024 advisory to the 2025 update include: Immediate Departure Directive : The September 2024 advisory urged Americans to leave "as soon as safely possible." The new version states they are "strongly advised to depart immediately." : The September 2024 advisory urged Americans to leave "as soon as safely possible." The new version states they are "strongly advised to depart immediately." Explicit Torture Allegations : The 2025 version includes new detail that "detainees have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, including severe beatings, prolonged restraint in stress positions, and waterboarding." : The 2025 version includes new detail that "detainees have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, including severe beatings, prolonged restraint in stress positions, and waterboarding." No Consular Contact : The advisory warns: "The U.S. government has no way to contact U.S. nationals detained in Venezuela, and those detained are not allowed to contact family members or independent legal counsel." : The advisory warns: "The U.S. government has no way to contact U.S. nationals detained in Venezuela, and those detained are not allowed to contact family members or independent legal counsel." Legal Preparations Before Travel : The advisory explicitly tells travelers: "Prepare a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney." : The advisory explicitly tells travelers: "Prepare a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney." Arbitrary Detention Risks: It states: "Visas and residence permits may be canceled at any time without warning, and U.S. citizens holding a valid visa may be arbitrarily detained at any time." The warning also advises against all forms of entry into Venezuela, including over land borders, and highlights additional safety risks like nighttime travel and the lack of medical care or pharmaceutical availability. What's Next The advisory leaves little ambiguity: Americans should leave Venezuela immediately and not expect assistance from the U.S. government if they remain.
