The Trump administration sent termination notices on Thursday to more than 500,000 migrants enrolled in a Biden-era parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed that notices had been sent to program enrollees that their work authorizations and paroles were revoked, effective immediately.

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“The Biden Administration lied to America. They allowed more than half a million poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members to enter the United States through these disastrous parole programs; granted them opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

“Ending the CHNV parole programs, as well as the paroles of those who exploited it, will be a necessary return to common-sense policies, a return to public safety, and a return to America First,” she added.

One senior DHS official told the Washington Examiner they were aware of President Donald Trump‘s plans to end the program but were caught off guard by the department’s announcement Thursday afternoon.

White House officials declined to comment on the timing of Thursday’s announcement.

BIDEN AUTOPEN USE IN DC WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN

Back in 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced a new parole program for qualifying migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Roughly 530,000 migrants were granted parole under the program, and Republicans pointed to the move as part of larger attacks against Biden’s overarching immigration policies.

On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order terminating the program but was blocked by the courts. The Supreme Court would eventually allow the president’s efforts to expedite deportation proceedings for program enrollees.