The Department of Homeland Security says it has reversed immigration policies affecting approximately 2.2 million migrants, tightening work authorization, temporary protections and eligibility reviews while expanding deportation enforcement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration has dismantled a series of immigration protections established under former President Joe Biden, affecting approximately 2.2 million migrants as the Department of Homeland Security moves to restrict immigration benefits, expand removal proceedings and strengthen eligibility requirements for individuals seeking to remain in the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS agency responsible for processing immigration benefits, has implemented policy changes involving Temporary Protected Status (TPS), humanitarian parole, employment authorization and immigration application reviews. The administration says the changes are intended to address the consequences of immigration policies that permitted millions of migrants to enter or remain in the country during Biden’s presidency.
In an Oct. 29 announcement shared by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the department described USCIS as “reversing the downstream effects of the Biden border crisis.”
“These actions are in addition to the millions of visa revocations and denials issued by the U.S. Department of State and removals [deportations] carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the department stated.
USCIS administers applications for green cards, employment authorization, naturalization and numerous other immigration benefits. Although the agency does not conduct deportations, its decisions determine whether many foreign nationals qualify for immigration benefits or protections that can affect their eligibility to remain in the country.
Under Biden, USCIS processed large numbers of applications associated with humanitarian parole, Temporary Protected Status and employment authorization programs. These policies allowed eligible migrants to obtain temporary permission to remain in the United States, work legally and, in certain circumstances, pursue longer-term immigration status.
The Trump administration has reversed or restricted several of those policies, allowing immigration authorities to initiate removal proceedings against individuals who no longer qualify for protection and lack another lawful basis to remain.
Among the changes is the administration’s effort to end TPS designations for certain nationalities, including Haitians who received temporary protection under previous policies. The program provides eligible foreign nationals from designated countries with temporary protection against deportation and authorization to work when conditions in their home countries prevent safe returns.
The administration has sought to terminate those protections, including for Haitian migrants living in Springfield, Ohio, where immigration has become a prominent political issue. Ending TPS can expose affected individuals to deportation if they have no alternative legal status, although court challenges and judicial orders can affect when terminations take effect.
The administration’s broader enforcement campaign has also included efforts to expand deportations, as reflected in a publicly circulated statement concerning immigration enforcement.
According to the October DHS announcement, USCIS has concentrated on five major policy changes: “Ending the misuse of Temporary Protected Status so that TPS is once again truly temporary,” “Denying applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status when no legal basis exists,” and “Issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) to place removable aliens into removal proceedings before an immigration judge.”
The department also identified “Ending the automatic extension of employment authorization documents, ensuring every alien is properly screened and vetted before any work authorization is renewed” and “Terminating categorical parole programs and returning [migration] parole to strict case-by-case review as Congress intended.”
Notices to Appear formally initiate immigration removal proceedings, requiring recipients to appear before an immigration judge. Their issuance does not itself constitute a deportation order, but it allows the government to pursue removal through the immigration court system.
The changes to employment authorization are intended to prevent certain migrants from continuing to work automatically while renewal applications remain pending. Under the revised approach, affected applicants must satisfy applicable eligibility and screening requirements before receiving renewed authorization, potentially creating interruptions in employment for individuals awaiting decisions.
The administration has also moved away from broad humanitarian parole programs that permitted groups of foreign nationals to enter temporarily under specified conditions. USCIS is instead emphasizing individualized determinations, with officials arguing that parole authority should be exercised on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to restricting eligibility, USCIS has expanded background reviews and screening procedures for applicants seeking immigration benefits, including permanent residency and citizenship. The administration says those measures are intended to identify fraud, security risks and applicants who do not satisfy statutory requirements.
The changes have coincided with a reported decline in naturalization approvals as the agency conducts additional reviews. However, the claim that citizenship approvals have fallen by half specifically because of renewed security screening was not independently established by the available information.
Immigration advocacy organizations and attorneys have challenged several administration policies in federal court, arguing that certain terminations and restrictions exceed executive authority or fail to comply with immigration law. The litigation has produced disputes over the administration’s authority to revoke existing protections and the procedural rights of affected migrants.
The administration has defended its actions as lawful enforcement of immigration requirements, arguing that previous policies expanded temporary immigration programs beyond their intended purposes. A separate social media post addressing the administration’s immigration actions highlighted the continuing political and legal disputes surrounding enforcement.
The policy reversals represent a broader shift from the Biden administration’s use of humanitarian entry programs and temporary immigration protections toward a system emphasizing stricter eligibility determinations, fraud detection and removal proceedings.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration’s changes demonstrate President Donald Trump’s commitment to enforcing immigration law throughout the federal immigration system.
“President Trump promised the American people that our immigration laws would be enforced, and these numbers reflect the scale of that commitment,” Mullin said.
“Those who abuse or flagrantly disregard our immigration system are now on notice that these violations of law will not be tolerated or overlooked. Securing our border was only the beginning. We are restoring integrity to the entire immigration system and putting the safety of our American citizens first.”
The administration’s actions could affect migrants who previously received temporary work authorization, humanitarian parole or protections against removal. Whether individual migrants ultimately lose those benefits or face deportation will depend on their immigration circumstances, applicable legal requirements and the outcome of ongoing litigation.
The 2.2 million figure reflects the administration’s reported scale of affected immigration benefits and protections; it does not establish that 2.2 million individuals have already been deported or that every affected migrant is immediately eligible for removal.
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