Migrants in Minnesota who entered the U.S. via CBP One app among those told to self-deport

NINA MOINI: In Minnesota and across the country, thousands of people who are in the US with a status called "humanitarian parole" are being told their temporary legal protections have ended. Many of these are migrants who came to the US during President Joe Biden's term, as the administration had attempted to expand legal pathways to enter the country.

The Trump administration is telling some people who entered the US through one humanitarian parole program called CBP One to leave the country, quote, "immediately." Ana Pottratz Acosta is back with us to help break down what this all means and how immigrants living in Minnesota are being impacted. She's a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, specializing in immigration law. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us again, Ana.

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Yes, of course. Happy to be here.

NINA MOINI: The last time you were on, we were talking about different types of statuses, how people-- there are so many different ways that people can come here and then seek legal pathways to be here. So many different statuses that it could be overwhelming for people to understand, so it's good to break them down like this.

Could you just start by explaining, please, what this humanitarian parole status is? How does someone obtain that?

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Sure. So in very broad strokes, humanitarian parole is a form of authorization that allows somebody to come into the country with lawful status. It's an authority that is granted to the president.

And just so people understand, humanitarian parole authority or parole authority in general, is something that has been used by every president, including President Trump, going back to the Truman or the Eisenhower administration back in the '50s. And historically, some large examples of mass humanitarian parole prior to the Biden administration included the admission or evacuation of Vietnamese refugees or refugees from Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War.

So there was a mass scale evacuation and admission with parole of Vietnamese refugees in the '70s and early '80s. And then more recently, under the Biden administration, there were two programs, so humanitarian parole for nationals of certain countries that were sponsored to come in, so Ukraine, and then the CHNV program, which was for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and those humanitarian parole programs that are at risk.

And then the other one, which was used to manage flow of individuals who were appearing at the Southern border during the Biden administration to apply for asylum, was a parole program known as CBP One, where people applied for an appointment to present themselves lawfully at ports of entry for purposes of undergoing initial processing and entering the country with a two-year grant of humanitarian parole for purposes of pursuing an asylum claim.

NINA MOINI: And so the thinking there from the Biden administration was to be organized or make it easier for people and streamline processes. And the Trump administration is saying, no, you're basically opening the borders then to people and anyone to come in, it sounds like. But you've actually been working with people who are receiving letters around this, I understand, and what's going on there.

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Yes. And just to explain, so I teach a clinic at Mitchell Hamline where we represent individuals, including immigrants, who are new arrivals, who came into the country using the CBP One app appointment process. And actually, on Friday, I received a series of panicked calls and text messages from individuals who were existing clients and people scheduled for a consultation with me letting me know that they had received a notification or a letter via email instructing them that their status was being terminated immediately and that they needed to depart the country.

So naturally, when you get a message like that, it causes a lot of panic. And they reached out to me because they weren't sure what it meant or what they needed to do.

NINA MOINI: And what do you make of what it means and what you need to do? Because I wonder if the administration is wanting people to basically self-deport or just leave on their own. Or what if you can't leave immediately? Or what does that even mean? What are you advising people?

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Well, the thing is that-- and I'm looking at the language of the letter that was sent out to some clients and potential clients that I was scheduled to meet with for a consultation. And it says, you're here because of a parole, and DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate your parole immediately.

And the thing, though, that's a little bit misleading in the notification is that a lot of people who entered with humanitarian parole through CBP One or some of these other programs, have another basis to remain in the United States. So many of them have applied for asylum. And while you have an asylum application pending either before the immigration court or before US citizenship and Immigration Services, you do have the right to remain in the country while your asylum application is pending and being processed.

Additionally, everyone who came in through the CBP One app appointment was issued a document called a notice to appear that commenced removal proceedings or a case for them in immigration court. So as long as their case in immigration court remains pending and open, they have a right to remain in the country and receive due process where they can present their asylum claim or any other claim for relief that would allow them to stay in the country before an immigration judge, before they would be forced to depart the United States.

So in many ways, that notice that was sent out was very misleading. And I think the intention of it is to try to get people to self-deport after receiving that notification.

NINA MOINI: So with that in mind, what are you telling concerned people who are coming to you who have received these letters? What would their next step be? Just to keep going as though they didn't receive it or what would they do?

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Well, it's really individual to the person. So I think probably the best thing that a person can do, if you entered with the CBP One app and received this notification, is to consult with an immigration lawyer as soon as possible because every case is very different.

So if you haven't already applied for asylum, you would want to meet with a lawyer to see if you have a colorable asylum claim or a basis to apply for asylum, and make sure that you file that application as soon as possible. Other people might be eligible for temporary protected status or some other form of relief that would allow them to stay in the country.

So I think the best thing to do, just because every situation is different, is for someone who's received this notice to try and meet with an immigration lawyer, or if they have an immigration lawyer, consult with their lawyer as soon as possible to determine what exactly it would mean for them individually.

NINA MOINI: And, Ana, you mentioned due process, something that has really been called into question lately with some of the student visas that have been revoked and other things. How are you feeling about just people following the process and having due process? Are you concerned about that?

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: I mean, of course. It would be impossible not to be concerned about making sure that people have their procedural due process rights respected and enforced, given some of the things that we've seen over the past few weeks. I think another thing that is a cause for concern with these notifications about termination of CBP One parole is I think there are some concerns that some people might be taken into detention when they appear for their court hearings or other things like that.

And I think too, just kind of a larger problem with our immigration system is ensuring that people get a fair shake. So really, what I think is important is that people are still allowed to have their day in court to present their claim for asylum or other forms of relief that would allow them to stay.

And if at the end of the process, once a judge has reviewed the evidence in their case, and if the judge makes a determination that they are not eligible for asylum or have no other basis to remain in the country, if at that point they receive a removal order, that's OK because they have received due process. They have had an opportunity to present their case before a judge.

But it's very important, particularly when you see a lot of people that came through the CBP One app process, that they were fleeing very terrible conditions and likely do have a colorable asylum claim. It's important that they have full due process and have the opportunity to present their case before a judge versus getting a blanket termination and then being forced to return to the conditions they fled in the first place.

NINA MOINI: Is there any, I guess, precedent for this type of revoking humanitarian parole? I wonder, with all of this going through the court system, if there's potential to just really back up the court system and make it harder for people to move along in the process.

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Well, what I will say is that humanitarian parole, there have been cases where it's been terminated more on a case-by-case basis. This, I believe, is the first instance where we've had a mass termination of parole prior to the end of the two-year grant or whatever grant of humanitarian parole was issued to the person when they entered the country.

That's the real difference. And I anticipate that there probably will be litigation challenging this mass termination of humanitarian parole for those who entered with the CBP One app. And one other thing that I will add about CBP One, in addition to terminating parole for individuals who entered lawfully for purposes of pursuing an asylum claim, the CBP One app process that was one of the day one policies of the Trump administration.

So people who had been waiting and had an appointment scheduled for after January 20 of this year had their appointment canceled. So it now is impossible to request a CBP One app appointment. And then for people who entered prior to January 20 lawfully through the CBP One app, they're now getting these notices of termination. So it's effectively like having the rug pulled out from under them, which is a huge problem.

NINA MOINI: Ana, really appreciate you stopping by again and breaking all of this down for us, and then putting into terms that we can all easily understand. We hope you'll join us again as things continue to unfold. Thank you.

ANA POTTRATZ ACOSTA: Of course. Thank you for having me.

NINA MOINI: That was Ana Pottratz Acosta, professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, specializing in immigration law.