Astrid Montealegre warns that given the immigration changes ordered by President Donald Trump, deportations could occur at any time.
By Confidencial
HAVANA TIMES – Over 300 undocumented immigrants were detained on January 21, in a first day of raids under the mandate of newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump. The following day, 1,500 soldiers were dispatched to the US southern border, and Congress approved a law authorizing the detention of undocumented immigrants for relatively minor crimes, including theft or shoplifting. These events have created an atmosphere of “fear” and “desperation” in California’s detention centers.
Attorney Astrid Montealegre, expert in immigration affairs and advisor to the Nicaraguan-American Human Rights Alliance, warned that the detention of migrants occurred on the highways agricultural workers take to the fields. Now, in just two days, the detention centers have begun to fill, and massive deportations could occur “at any time,” she stressed.
“Most of those detained are Mexican,” Montealegre specified after visiting the migrant detention centers in California. Among the detained, “I also encountered several Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans,” she added.
At this time, “any immigrant who doesn’t have legal status in the United States is in danger of immediate deportation,” Montealegre affirmed. Among the executive orders President Trump signed on January 21, 2025, is one indicating that the deportations may be “expedited” without requiring judicial review.
“Deportations could begin this afternoon. It’s an expedited process. We already saw this during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Remain in Mexico program was in effect, and expedited deportations were authorized. We may see a deportation flight leaving Louisiana or Atlanta very soon,” she commented.
Changes in the U.S. immigration policies
The detention of illegal immigrants in the United States and the threat of massive deportations are part of a series of immigration changes implemented by President Trump, who announced a sweeping series of measures to end the legacy of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.
Immediately following his inauguration on January 20, 2025, Trump eliminated the program known as “catch and release,” through which a person with irregular migration status detained by immigration agents could be let go, “as long as they did not have a criminal record or a pending deportation order,” Montealegre explained.
He also ordered an end to the Humanitarian Parole program that benefited thousands of migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti. Trump claims that in the last few years his country “has endured a large-scale invasion, at a level without precedent.”
Further, he restored the Remain in Mexico program that forces anyone seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico for their interview. This situation, the attorney pointed out, “exposes the immigrants not only to the risk of kidnapping, but also to serious dangers if they attempt to cross the border illegally out of desperation, due to the risks they face not only in their home countries but now in Mexico.”
Simultaneously, Trump temporarily suspended the United States Refugee Admissions Program which included the Safe Movement Program, through which Venezuelan or Nicaraguan refugees in Costa Rica or Guatemala could receive legal permission to enter the US, or apply for relocation to Spain and Canada.
Finally, he signed an executive order attempting to eliminate so called “birthright” citizenship in the United States. The measure was immediately rejected as “illegal” in 24 states, given that citizenship for all those born on US soil is specified in the fourteenth amendment of the US Constitution. On January 23, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order.
What alternatives are left for parolees?
Given the changes in US immigration policy, Montealegre indicated that those who entered the country legally under the humanitarian parole program can stay on US soil until their legal status expires.
The humanitarian parole program, “allows those benefitted to remain in the United States for the time designated [two years]. None of the executive orders [approved by Trump] affects this permission. That could change, but for the moment, those who have had their entry permits stamped under Law 94, with their date of exit, have permission, and do not run the risk of deportation,” stated the immigration specialist.
Beneficiaries of humanitarian parole who desire to remain in the United States after the time allotted should seek legal advice, given that their alternatives will depend on an individual case basis.
“Some – very few – are going to have relatives who can petition for them and request an extension of stay. Others are going to have to file asylum applications, if they qualify. Unfortunately, the great majority will have no alternative except returning to Nicaragua,” predicted Montealegre.
Meanwhile, those who are in the process of asylum retain their temporary protective status. According to Montealegre, “this allows them to work and live legally in the United States with no risk of deportation, until USCIS administration or a judge have the opportunity to review their case.”
Those who were approved for humanitarian parole but couldn’t travel to the US due to the program’s cancellation can apply for a humanitarian visa.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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