The Trump administration has begun revoking temporary residency and work authorisations for around 500,000 immigrants who had been granted special humanitarian protections under the CHNV programme.
This scheme, which operated from 2023 until its termination earlier this year by President Donald Trump, provided temporary relief to nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has started issuing notices urging these individuals to “self-deport immediately.” This directive follows a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government’s power to require participants in the CHNV programme to leave the United States, even while legal challenges against the termination continue. Those who choose to comply via the DHS Home Mobile App may receive assistance with travel expenses and a $1,000 payment upon returning to their home countries.
This move is part of an effort to dismantle immigration protections introduced during the Biden administration. Recently, the Supreme Court also permitted the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for nearly 350,000 Venezuelan nationals who had been allowed to remain in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their homeland.
The CHNV programme had granted temporary two-year stays to people fleeing conflict, political unrest, or dangerous living and working environments. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticised the Biden administration for what she described as misleading the public about the programme, asserting that ending it marked a return to “common-sense policies” and an “America First” approach.
Despite this hardline stance on immigration, Trump has voiced concerns about the impact of these policies on sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, and leisure, which frequently depend on undocumented workers.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump acknowledged that his administration’s rigorous immigration enforcement has led to labour shortages, stating, “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long term workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”
He further criticised the Biden administration’s border policies, claiming that “Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs,” and insisted on the necessity of protecting farmers while removing what he described as criminals from the country.
Trump promised forthcoming changes, declaring, “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
Speaking to reporters, Trump reiterated his view that deporting undocumented agricultural workers harms farmers who rely on these long-term employees.
“Farmers are being hurt badly … They have very good workers, they’ve worked for them for 20 years, they’re not citizens but they’ve turned out to be great,” he said. “You go into a farm and you look and people … they’ve been there for 20, 25, years, and they’ve worked great and the owner of the farm loves them and everything else. And then you’re supposed to throw them out.”
He indicated that an official directive addressing these concerns would be issued soon, emphasising the importance of balancing immigration enforcement with the needs of American industries.
The White House has yet to provide details on what such an order might entail.