‘It is time for you to leave the United States’: Ukrainians receive erroneous email from Homeland Security Department

Some Ukrainians living legally in the US under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program received a notice this week from the Department of Homeland Security telling them to leave the country — a message that prompted panic and later turned out to be erroneous.

Some Ukrainians living legally in the US under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program received a notice this week from the Department of Homeland Security telling them to leave the country — a message that prompted panic and later turned out to be erroneous. “It is time for you to leave the United States,” the department wrote Thursday to some Ukrainians in a “notice of termination of parole,” which was obtained by CNN. It added that their parole will expire in seven days and issued a warning: “Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.” Just a day later, those who received the email were told it was sent “in error,” according to a follow-up communication obtained by CNN. The subsequent notice also said that “no action will be taken” as indicated in the previous message, adding, “the terms of your parole as originally issued remain unchanged at this time.” The confusing messages come as the Trump administration has attempted to crack down on immigration, including deporting hundreds of migrants it alleges are gang members and detaining pro-Palestinian student activists and Israel critics who are in the US legally. DHS confirmed in a statement to CNN that the message sent to some Ukrainians under the parole program was a mistake and that the “parole program has not been terminated.” There are also no plans to end the program, a spokesperson told CNN. DHS paused admissions under the program in January, shortly after Trump took office. But the back-and-forth was enough to frighten a number of the Ukrainians and the Americans who are sponsoring them, according to a source familiar with the situation. The letters prompted a host of questions around whether the Ukrainians who were brought here legally beginning in 2022 would be able to continue living in the United States as long as Russia’s war with Kyiv plays out.