Another immigration lawyer is told to leave America in Team Trump email mix-up
Another Boston immigration lawyer received a nerve-wracking email telling her to leave the United States in yet another email mix-up from the Trump administration.
Carmen Bello, 43, was the second lawyer in Boston to receive the email on Friday morning ordering her to 'depart the United States immediately.'
The letters they were sent came from the Department of Homeland Security, informing them that their 'parole' was terminated.
Bello, however, had become a US citizen in 2007 and had been practicing immigration law for 14 years, the Boston Globe reported.
The letter threatened that she would be subject to criminal prosecution, civil fines and penalties if she didn't leave 'immediately.'
She was also informed that her parole, and any work authorization as a consequence, would terminate in seven days.
'You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security parole you into the United States for a limited period,' the letter, sent at 2:05 am, said, according to the Globe.
'DHS encourages you to leave immediately on your own. You can use the CBP Home mobile app on your phone to make arrangements for your departure,' the letter continued.
Carmen Bello, 43, was the second lawyer in Boston to receive the email on Friday morning ordering her to 'depart the United States immediately'
'You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security parole you into the United States for a limited period,' the letter, sent at 2.05am
The letters they were sent came from the Department of Homeland Security, informing them that their 'parole' was terminated. Bello, however, had become a US citizen in 2007
Bello told DailyMail.com she initially assumed the email was intended for one of her clients, but it included no case information or inclusion of her name.
She said she 'realized the email was sent in error and was likely connected to a client's application for humanitarian parole.'
'Unfortunately, this type of mistaken notification is not uncommon and has been received by numerous individuals who have been paroled by the Department of Homeland Security,' Bello added.
She strongly encouraged anyone who did receive the 'alarming' email to seek legal advice before taking any action.
But Bello was not the only Boston lawyer to receive the same email informing her she needed to leave the country.
American citizen Nicole Micheroni was equally stunned when she opened the letter from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday morning.
The Newton-born attorney initially assumed the email titled; 'Notification of Termination of Parole' was for one of her clients.
'Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.'
'It took me a couple of minutes to realize it was sent to me, instead of someone I represent,' Micheroni said.
The DHS has since confirmed the email was sent in error.
'I never took DHS's scary-sounding notice that I had 7 days to leave the country too seriously, because it was obviously some kind of mistake,' Micheroni added. 'But what about the people the emails were actually aimed at?'
American citizen Nicole Micheroni was equally stunned when she opened the letter from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday morning
The email was one of many sent as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation plans, according to Sarah Sherman-Stokes, associate director of the Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston University School of Law.
She said the letters were predominantly sent to asylum seekers who were using the Biden-era CPB one app, which allowed them to schedule hearings and appointments.
President Trump immediately axed the program upon taking office, leaving thousands of people scrambling for legal ways to pursue their asylum claims.
The DHS has since said that more emails may have been incorrectly sent to US citizens if their details were used on CPB one applications.
'[Customs and Border Protection] is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis,' the statement said.
But Micheroni said she is still perplexed over how she ended up receiving the email.
'The system doesn't let you include an attorney's contact info, so we still have no idea how I ended up on the list,' she added.
'CBP One was converted to "CBP Home," an app that "helps" immigrants "self-deport".
'I never took DHS's scary-sounding notice that I had 7 days to leave the country too seriously, because it was obviously some kind of mistake,' Micheroni added. 'But what about the people the emails were actually aimed at?'
'Revocation of parole isn't the same as a deportation order, and this email does not initiate deportation proceedings.
'Anyone who has received this may still have options and should talk to an immigration lawyer now.'
One immigration attorney, Emmanuel Olawale, told The Columbus Dispatch that several of his clients received similar emails, including US Citizen employee Rea Main.
Speaking on the email sent to Main, Olawale wrote on Facebook: 'This isn't just bureaucratic error. This is a chilling example of how broken the system is - and how dangerous it can be when the government blindly targets innocent people.'
But Olawale said that no matter of immigration status, people do not have to self-deport.
He said that they still have the right to go through US Immigration court process despite the method of their arrival into the country.
'We try to advise them, even though it's scary, it is illegal,' he told the outlet.
'You still have a right to due process under the 14th amendment, which covers citizens and noncitizens if on US soil.'
As part of the migration crackdown, the Trump administration had sought to deport hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela by ending legal humanitarian protections granted under Biden
'Imagine you tell clients: "This is not legal, they can't do this," but they do it anyway,' he told the outlet. 'The powerless and the voiceless have just been ignored, even when they go through the right path to get justice'
Olawale acknowledged that convincing his clients to overlook their fear in favor of the law, however, has proven tricky.
He added that the menacing tone of the emails was concerning and said: 'It's like: "The same way you found your way here, you need to find your way back home, without due process."'
'Imagine you tell clients: "This is not legal, they can't do this," but they do it anyway,' he told the outlet. 'The powerless and the voiceless have just been ignored, even when they go through the right path to get justice.'
As part of the migration crackdown, the Trump administration had sought to deport hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela by ending legal humanitarian protections granted under Biden.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said more than 500,000 people from the four countries would be given until April 24 to leave.
However, the initiative suffered a setback last week after a judge blocked the order.
During a hearing, US District Judge Indira Talwani repeatedly questioned the government's assertion that it could end humanitarian parole for the four nationalities.
She argued that immigrants in the program who are here legally now face an option of 'fleeing the country' or staying and 'risk losing everything.'
'The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision,' Talwani said, adding that the explanation for ending the program was 'based on an incorrect reading of the law.'
'There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut,' she said later in the hearing.
DHS previously stated that the recent deportation push does not extend to Ukrainian and Afghan war refugees who have been granted a temporary special status.
