(The Center Square) – More than 900,000 illegal foreign nationals who were unlawfully released into the country by the Biden administration through a now defunct CBP One phone app have been notified that their parole status is terminated and have been instructed to leave the U.S. immediately, or face deportation, according to a notification obtained by CBS News.
The “Notice of Termination of Parole” states, “It is time for you to leave the United States. You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security paroled you into the United States for a limited period. … DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate your parole” within seven days of the notice unless their parole expires sooner.
The notice warns those who don’t voluntarily leave who remain in the U.S. will be targeted for removal, criminally prosecuted, subject to civil fines and penalties, and “any other lawful options available to the federal government,” it says.
The CBP Home App explains how illegal foreign nationals can notify DHS that they are voluntarily leaving the country.
Any benefits they received when they were released into the U.S. through the app, including work authorization, have also been terminated, according to the notice.
The warning comes after the app was terminated within minutes of President Donald Trump being sworn into office on Jan. 20. Later, DHS announced the app was repurposed as the CBP Home app to facilitate self-deportation.
The notice encourages those who used the CBP One app to illegally enter the U.S. to use the CBP Home app to self deport and notify DHS before and after they leave.
The notice also warns: “DHS is terminating your parole. Do not attempt to remain in the United States – the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately.”
It follows a DHS directive issued last month to all foreign nationals living in the U.S. legally and illegally to register with the federal government in compliance with federal law, The Center Square reported. “For decades, this law has been ignored – not anymore,” DHS said.
“An alien’s failure to depart the U.S. is a crime that could result in significant financial penalty. An alien’s failure to register is a crime that could result in a fine, imprisonment, or both,” DHS warned.
That directive followed a multi-million-dollar ad campaign DHS launched in February in which DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urged those in the U.S. illegally to voluntarily leave and told foreign nationals not to illegally enter the U.S., The Center Square reported.
“Let me be clear: if you come to our country and you break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United States,” she said. “Under President Trump, we are defending American families and restoring their safety. If you try to enter illegally, you will be caught, you will be removed, and you will never return.”
CBP first launched the app at the end of the first Trump administration on Oct. 28, 2020, for commercial purposes to facilitate the efficient movement of commercial goods into the U.S.
Under the Biden administration, former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repurposed it in January 2023, subsequently revising it in May and November 2023, to allow 1,000 daily appointments for foreign nationals to obtain entry into the U.S., the majority of whom would otherwise be denied entry under federal immigration law, The Center Square reported.
The app was another example of Mayorkas violating federal law, House Republicans who impeached him for creating it and other parole programs argued, saying it granted mass parole to foreign nationals who were deemed inadmissible, The Center Square reported. Texas also sued, arguing, “The Biden Administration deliberately conceived of this phone app with the goal of illegally pre-approving more foreign aliens to enter the country and go where they please once they arrive.”
Mayorkas claimed the app would help reduce long lines at ports of entry and illegal border crossings between ports of entry. According to CBP data, the opposite occurred.
Under Mayorkas, the greatest number of foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. in history of nearly 4 million in fiscal 2023 and nearly 3 million in fiscal 2024, The Center Square exclusively reported.
Since the CBP One app was introduced in January 2023 and through the end of December 2024, more than 936,500 illegal border crossers successfully scheduled appointments through it. The top nationalities processed with app appointments were Venezuelans, Cubans and Mexicans, CBP said.
Now they are being targeted for removal.
