The immigration attorney Patricia Hernández has assured Univisión that "there is a very high probability" that Cubans who entered the United States through humanitarian parole and CBP ONE and have been in the country for less than two years could be deported by the Trump Administration.
This risk particularly affects those who entered on parole, have expired status, and have not applied for any immigration relief. "There is a significant likelihood that these individuals will face deportation," she reiterated. In these cases, she advises seeking information and legal counsel. "Remember that notaries are not lawyers here in the United States," she warned.
In an interview granted to journalist Javier Díaz, attorney Patricia Hernández explained that the new memorandum released on Thursday, January 23, allows the authorities of the Department of Homeland Security to cancel paroles that are currently in effect.
In response to the question of how this new regulation affects Cubans who entered the United States with parole, applied for residency, and already have their 'green card', the lawyer clarified that both residents and those who already have citizenship "do not need to worry." This includes those who entered with parole, have applied for residency, and have not yet received their 'green card'.
In these cases, the lawyer recommends that those in this situation who have a valid work permit under parole apply for a work permit under the Cuban Adjustment Act, thus "having a valid work permit and avoiding any issues with the authorities."
"This memorandum will impact more those Cubans who just arrived six or five months ago and have not yet reached a year and a day. This means that at this moment they are only under humanitarian parole and do not have any pending applications with the Immigration office," Hernández added.
Regarding Cubans who have an I-220 B, which is interpreted as a deportation order, the lawyer noted that they are also at risk of being deported.
"Those who already have a deportation order can be deported by Immigration at any time. They are at high risk of being deported because no further process is required. They have already been deported, and Immigration can put them on a plane and send them back to their countries," he said.
When asked about Cubans who have the I-220 A, who have applied for the Cuban Adjustment Act, or who have an active process, the lawyer points out that they do face a risk of deportation because the memorandum from January 23 states that even if a person has a pending case in Immigration Court, what they want to do is cancel it, close the case, and place them in an expedited removal case.
Regarding whether federal agencies will enforce the memorandum strictly in all states, Patricia Hernández recalled that President Trump has issued an executive order, and from that point, ICE and the Border Patrol, among others, have to interpret the executive order and issue another memorandum with instructions for officers on what to do. "It will take some time, and obviously they need resources, and it is unclear if Congress will provide them with additional resources to carry out President Trump's order."
Univisión has also asked Patricia Hernández if it is possible for a District judge to halt Trump's deportation memorandum, as has happened with birthright citizenship , and the attorney believes it is possible.
"It is expected that there will be lawsuits against this memorandum and the executive order from Trump that led to the creation of this memorandum. The judge overseeing the case has the authority to issue an order placing a temporary hold on this memorandum while the executive order is being litigated," he pointed out.
As soon as he arrived at the White House, President Donald Trump granted new powers to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expedite the deportation of immigrants who entered the country under the humanitarian parole and CBP One programs, implemented during Joe Biden's administration.
In a conversation with attorney Patricia Hernández, immigration lawyer Willy Allen believes that Cubans who arrived under humanitarian parole and are in the process of changing their status should not be concerned, due to the protection provided by the Adjustment Act. This also applies to those with I-220A who have submitted their political asylum application.
More than 42,000 Cubans have deportation orders in the U.S. but the Díaz-Canel regime refuses to accept them, according to internal ICE data obtained by Fox News.
In September of last year, a spokesperson for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned that migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela entering the territory under the humanitarian parole program had only two years to regularize their immigration status or they would be deported. Today, they are the ones most likely to be returned to their countries of origin.
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